i wish you these pictures. they show smoke rising over the city. 1a people including two children were killed and dozens of others injured in the city of belgorod. it is 80 kilometres from the ukrainian city of kaki. it is 80 kilometres from the ukrainian city of kaki. this dashcam video has been verified by the bbc. it shows an explosion on a street in the city, and people running from the scene. otherfootage and images show damage to buildings and vehicles gutted by fire. if the numbers of dead are confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest strikes on russia of the war so far — after nearly two years of fighting. it also comes a day after friday's massive bombardment of ukraine, the biggest of the war so far. ukraine's president zelensky says at least 39 people were killed when 150 russian missiles and drones were launched at cities across ukraine. bbc ukraine's zhanna bezpiatchuk is in kyiv with the latest on those attacks.

ukraine has come back to normal life quite fast after the deadliest air attack on its territory on the 29th of december. ukrainian has confirmed that altogether 120 ukrainian towns were damaged by russian missiles and drones. ukraine is counting its dead. at least 39 people were killed during this assault on all main ukrainian cities. and many other locations across the country. ukrainian military intelligence said very clearly if russia tries to attack ukraine during the wintertime, when the weather is the coldest in this country, and to disrupt their power supply, water

supply, disrupt their power supply, water supply, to the main cities, if it attacks the civilian population, there will be a response. there will be retaliation. the ukrainian media reported sighting military intelligence, but drones were launched targeted near locations in russia. ukrainians are preparing to meet more war, which can be more difficult and challenging than the previous two years of their fight against russia. let's turn to the middle east, where gaza's hamas—run health ministry says 165 palestinians have been killed and 250 injured in the past 2a hours, as the israeli army continues its bombardment. israeli tank fire and air strikes are continuing in khan younis in southern gaza, which israel sees as a stronghold of hamas, considered a terrorist organisation by many western governments. residents report intense gun battles between israeli troops

and hamas fighters there. the israeli army says its troops have killed dozens of hamas fighters in gaza city. as the ground operations drive tens of thousands of people to flee, there are also reports of an increased spread of diseases. and the un is warning that the volume of aid reaching the territory remains "woefully inadequate". our middle east correspondent yolande knell sent us this update. there have been street battles, once again, very intense between israeli soldiers and hamas fighters in khan younis in the south of the gaza strip, seen as a stronghold of hamas. israeli warplanes have also been pounding the three urban refugee camps in the centre of the territory. this is an area from which tens of thousands of people have fled in recent days. and one local health official there said that 100 people had been killed by israeli bombings injust the last 2a hours. and he said that the local hospitals really overwhelmed by the numbers of casualties that were coming in. now, israel says it's not limiting the amount of aid that is getting into gaza.

and it says that earlier in the day it allowed a four—hour humanitarian pause in the fighting. but at the same time, there is this complaint from the un that it's really "woefully inadequate", the amount of aid that is getting into gaza right now. and it has said that mass delivery of aid remains impossible because of the ongoing fighting. we've also had fresh warnings from un health officials about a rise in outbreaks of diseases among newly displaced people. that was in jerusalem. that was injerusalem. the director of the unrwa spoke to me earlier. there are approximately half a million people living in our facilities across the gaza strip. the facilities in the north are coming crowded because people continue to come in. people have

started taking refuge in areas outside of these facilities, including in parks, in the open, many are sleeping in their cars. our facilities, yes, they have been hit. we have recorded 180 hits on our facilities, some were directly hit, and as a result of those hits, at least 300 people who were sheltering in these facilities got killed, and around a thousand were injured. can around a thousand were in'ured. can ou “ust around a thousand were injured. can you just tell me a bit more about where these people who are not staying in your facilities are staying? where are they sleeping? at staying? where are they sleeping? git least 400,000 people are just out there. they also depend on unrwa's assistance because they have taken refuge in the vicinity of our facilities, and they are either in open areas, they are on the street,

some have set up little shacks with a plastic sheet, some are sleeping in their cars. when i was there, it had just started, and now they say they open the window and all they see are rivers of people everywhere. in terms of the aid distribution and the amount, obviously we know that many agencies are saying how difficult it is to get in intent of the amount is not enough, but in terms of what is getting in, what is the distribution like that? it is obviously hard to travel around gaza, so how far into gaza is the aid getting?— aid getting? very challenging to distribute, and _ aid getting? very challenging to distribute, and very _ aid getting? very challenging to distribute, and very little - aid getting? very challenging to distribute, and very little aid - distribute, and very little aid getting in, so after it comes in, we also have restrictions on our movement, for example to the north, then what happened just a couple of days ago when israeli forces shot at

one of our humanitarian convoys after it had finally reached the north, delivered assistance there. we also have huge numbers of people who are depending more and more on assistance from unrwa and other aid agencies and it is very difficult to keep up. the markets are almost hermetically closed, so there is no commercial supplies coming in, which makes the humanitarian operation even more complex. there is telecommunications cut quite often. it has probably become one of the most complex and difficult humanitarian operations for us right now. meanwhile, south africa has filed a case at the international court ofjustice alleging that israel is engaging in "genocidal acts" in gaza. the un court has confirmed the proceedings concerning alleged violations of israel's obligations under the genocide convention. the move has been

welcomed by the leader of palestinian national initiative party mustafa barghouti. we appreciate and we support the decision of the south african government to take the case of genocide against palestinian people in gaza to the international court ofjustice. israel is committing three terrible war crimes against the people in gaza — the war crime of genocide, the war crime of collective punishment, and the war crime of ethnic cleansing. and it is high time to hold israel responsible and accountable in front of the international community. but israel has responded with fury. israeli foreign ministry spokesperson lior haiat says "israel rejects with disgust the blood libel spread by south africa in its application to the international court ofjustice". he goes on to say, "south africa's claim constitutes a despicable and contemptuous exploitation of the court." our correspondent daniel de simone is injohannesburg. earlier he explained the perceived link south african politicians have with palestinians.

there is a long context to this. the governing party of south africa, the african national congress, was once an opposition party, it was in opposition to the apartheid regime in south africa and it was a revolutionary movement with a military wing. in those years it did have links to some palestinian groups and since taking power almost 30 years ago in south africa it has retained links with palestinian organisations and it has spoken about that it views what is happening to palestinian people as a form of apartheid. so the case that was filed by them yesterday at the international court ofjustice really is not that much of a surprise. the south african government, the president has been speaking in the last few weeks, saying they regard what has been happening as a genocide, they talk about war crimes, so when the filing came yesterday it wasn't that much of a shock. it is sort of consistent with the previous evidence and the relations between the two countries are at an incredibly bad point.

south africa withdrew all of its diplomats from israel last month. it hasn't had an ambassador there for years. and israel then withdrew its ambassador from south africa last month. the national assembly of south africa actually voted to suspend all diplomatic relations with israel, but the south african government is yet to respond to that vote. eurostar has now confirmed all of its services travelling to and from london today have been cancelled. it is due to flooding in a tunnel. in a statement the company said, "eurostar is extremely sorry for the unforeseen issues affecting customers today but safety remains our number one priority. we understand this is a vital time to get home at the end of the festive season and ahead of new year and we are supporting customers in stations." aruna iyengarjoins us live from st pancras station. talk us through it, very disappointed people there.

talk us through it, very disa ointed --eole there. . disappointed people there. there are man man disappointed people there. there are many many hundreds _ disappointed people there. there are many many hundreds of— disappointed people there. there are many many hundreds of people - disappointed people there. there are many many hundreds of people who l disappointed people there. there are i many many hundreds of people who are disappointed, whoever trying to get away over the festive period to enjoy new year celebrations with family and friends but cannot do so. earlier today i sat and spoke to people on the concourse who are trying to find out desperately where they could get to today. it means all eurostar services out of london and st pancras are cancelled today, also southeastern trains running from st pancras are cancelled. all high—speed trains have been stopped because of flooding in two tunnels underneath the thames, just outside airbus fleet in kent. i spoke earlier to a schoolteacher leaving a party of new york i school students who are trying to reach paris for celebrations there. they couldn't get there but managed to get a flight out. we get there but managed to get a fliuht out. ~ ., , ., flight out. we arrived this morning ”lannin to flight out. we arrived this morning planning to take — flight out. we arrived this morning planning to take a _ flight out. we arrived this morning planning to take a nine _ flight out. we arrived this morning planning to take a nine o'clock- planning to take a nine o'clock train _ planning to take a nine o'clock train and — planning to take a nine o'clock train and we were told about the flooding — train and we were told about the flooding in the tunnels and that our

train was _ flooding in the tunnels and that our train was cancelled so we have been here all_ train was cancelled so we have been here all day— train was cancelled so we have been here all day trying to rebook either a differenl— here all day trying to rebook either a different train or flight, new hotels, — a different train or flight, new hotels, and we are still here. and what is the _ hotels, and we are still here. and what is the feeling _ hotels, and we are still here. inc what is the feeling amongst the group about these cancellations? presumably you are quite disappointed?— presumably you are quite disappointed? presumably you are quite disa ointed? , , , , disappointed? yes but most students are en'o in: disappointed? yes but most students are enjoying being — disappointed? yes but most students are enjoying being here. _ disappointed? yes but most students are enjoying being here. we - disappointed? yes but most students are enjoying being here. we have - are enjoying being here. we have been _ are enjoying being here. we have been in_ are enjoying being here. we have been in and out of the train station, _ been in and out of the train station, exploring, trying food, taking — station, exploring, trying food, taking pictures. the students are pretty— taking pictures. the students are pretty 0k — taking pictures. the students are pretty ok with the travel changes. but you _ pretty ok with the travel changes. but you have had some good news, haven't you? indie but you have had some good news, haven't you?— but you have had some good news, haven't you? we have, we may have fliuhts haven't you? we have, we may have flights booked _ haven't you? we have, we may have flights booked for _ haven't you? we have, we may have flights booked for tomorrow, - haven't you? we have, we may have flights booked for tomorrow, we - haven't you? we have, we may havej flights booked for tomorrow, we just need to— flights booked for tomorrow, we just need to find a hotel and taxis to -et need to find a hotel and taxis to get to— need to find a hotel and taxis to get to the — need to find a hotel and taxis to get to the hotel.— need to find a hotel and taxis to get to the hotel. that teacher was re get to the hotel. that teacher was pretty upbeat _ get to the hotel. that teacher was pretty upbeat about _ get to the hotel. that teacher was pretty upbeat about their - get to the hotel. that teacher was. pretty upbeat about their situation, but others people i spoke to really were very disappointed at the communications they have received. they said they had turned up at the station and had no idea whether they would get compensation. hotels and also when they would be able to

travel. one french woman i spoke to told me she could not get a eurostar train until the 1st of january and that meant she would have to pay to be put up in a hotel and she really didn't have the money to do that. there is also likely to be more disruption on other railways. tencent are warning there will be severe delays to their services today and tomorrow because of driver shortages. that is also going to be affecting northern rail service in the north of england.— affecting northern rail service in the north of england. thank you for now. now the north of england. thank you for now- now it — the north of england. thank you for now- now it is _ the north of england. thank you for now. now it is time _ the north of england. thank you for now. now it is time for _ the north of england. thank you for now. now it is time for a _ the north of england. thank you for now. now it is time for a look - the north of england. thank you for now. now it is time for a look at - now. now it is time for a look at today's sport with jane dougal. hello from the bbc sport centre. let's start with the late game in the premier league between manchester united and nottingham forest, which is due to kick off at the city ground shortly. the united players have arrived — one change to their starting line up, with antony replacing rasmus hojland, who is ill. nottingham forest, who beat newcastle united in their last match — their first under new boss nuno espirito santo — will be hoping to continue that form. united manager erik ten hag

says his side are ready for that new manager bounce from the opposition. with them you see the reaction when a new manager is coming in. you see the spirit. and we have to be ready for that. and it is always about... ..about us. but be aware of it, be aware that if they have the right spirit and of course they built the confidence... but... that is what we did as well. so, we have to continue and in the performance. it isa it is a big club, a big club. they have _ it is a big club, a big club. they have fantastic players, we know it is going _ have fantastic players, we know it is going to — have fantastic players, we know it is going to be hard. we saw what they did — is going to be hard. we saw what they did against liverpool, how they changed _ they did against liverpool, how they changed again. we expect a very difficult — changed again. we expect a very difficult game. but we are at the city ground. so come back also from a good _ city ground. so come back also from a good game, so what we want is to

compete _ a good game, so what we want is to compete well, and give it a go. let's take a look at the other results in the english premier league. chelsea beat luton town 3—2. aston villa drew 2—2 with ten—man burnley. crystal palace won 3—1 against brentford. manchester city beat sheffield united 2—0. and wolves thrashed troubled everton 3—0. in scotland, celtic increased their lead at the top of the scottish premiership to eight points after beating rivals rangers 2—1. paulo bernardo and kyogo furuhashi scored for the hosts. rangers captain james tavernier converted a brilliant free kick in response. however, they also had leon balogun sent off. for all the other results from the scottish premiership, you can go to bbc sport website.

to tennis now and the united cup where alexander zverev and angelique kerber have led germany to victory over italy on the first day's play. after a strong singles win over lorenzo sonego, zverev teamed with kerber to win the deciding mixed doubles rubber in straight sets. this was kerber�*s first time back on court after giving birth to a little girl in february. i had no idea howi i had no idea how i would feel after so long, but it is very good. there are a few things missing, but playing two matches in a day, i think after so long, i don't know how i will feel tomorrow. i think this is more the question! but for now, ifeel good, it feels good this is more the question! but for now, i feel good, it feels good to be back and playing in front of a full stadium again, this is what i was missing the last few months. cricket now and australia have beaten india women by a small margin — just three runs — to win the od! series with a game to spare.

batting first in mumbai, the tourists got to 258 for eight off their 50 overs — opener phoebe litchfield top scoring with 63. india ended their reply on 255—8, falling just short despite a four on the last ball of the game. the final game of the three—match series is on tuesday. more details on all of those stories on the bbc sport website that is it for now. police in australia are warning people not to go looking for packages of cocaine that have been washing up on beaches in new south wales over the past week. officers have been searching a huge stretch of coastline after plastic—wrapped parcels containing the drug began to appear shortly before christmas. our reporter in sydney phil mercer has been following the story. before christmas the first of these packages was discovered in the central coast region of new south wales, an hour or so to the north of sydney, and since then many beaches between here and the port city of newcastle — that's about two hours' drive to the north — have been washed up, this cocaine washing up on those

beaches in between the two cities. now, the police estimate that 124kg of cocaine has been found by members of the public. and there is an overriding theory that this illicit haul was almost certainly strapped to a cargo vessel and was dislodged during wild seas, the aftermath of a tropical cyclone in queensland. so, certainly not the flotsam and jetsam that people on holiday or walking their dogs along the beach would expect to find here in sydney and further to the north. but a considerable amount of this class a drug has been discovered. this is not a time to be a freelance bounty hunter, according to australian authorities.

this is not a time to be a freelance bounty hunter, according to australian authorities. they do believe that all of the drugs have now been recovered, but they do caution that a single block of this illicit substance, weighing a kilogram, if anyone is caught with that, potentially there is a prison term of between 25 years and life. so certainly some harsh penalties for anyone involved in this particular trade. but the authorities believe that all of the drugs have now been washed up and recovered. phil mercer there from sydney. let's get some of the day's other news now from around the world. taiwan's three presidential election candidates have taken part in the only televised debate ahead of next month's elections. many of the questions focused on taiwan's difficult relationship with china. the frontrunner — william lai — rejected accusations he would steer the self—ruled island towards full independence. china has expelled nine military officers from its parliament, the national people's congress. they include four generals of the army's strategic missile force. it's the latest in a series of high—level restructuring moves in the military since defence minister li shangfu was abruptly

sacked in october, following months of speculation about his whereabouts. no explanation has been given for the officials' removal — but there have been reports of a corruption investigation. indonesia has announced an additional tax on electronic cigarettes as a way to reduce vaping, the latest country to do so. the finance ministry said long term vaping is shown to negatively affect people's health. the extra levy will see 10% of the excise tariff for e—cigarettes added to the cost of purchase. indonesia is among dozens of countries to impose punitive levels of tax on vapes, to discourage their use. the finishing touches are being put to preparations for new year's eve celebrations around the world. in london, a large fireworks display will light up the thames. the 31st of december also marks 100 years since the bells of big ben were first broadcast. in 1923, bbc radio transmitted the famous bongs to the nation to herald the new year. our reporter meghan owen is in east london where the final preparations are under way.

it's quite incredible, actually, to think that what we will see tomorrow evening when london's skyline is lit up in colour with the fireworks all starts here on these barges in the east of london in the docklands. you can see behind me all the final preparations arejust being put in place. there are thousands of shells, there are controlled firing panels, there are wires, so it's really interesting to see it all happening behind the scenes. it's a very meticulous operation and i am joined by the event director, darryl fleming. darryl, just talk me through the numbers. how many fireworks and how long has it all taken? we have about 12,000 individual fireworks on these three barges and the london eye itself. we don't get the chance to rig that until tomorrow at six o'clock, so the most iconic part of the structure doesn't get rigged until then. we have a crew of about 30 people working over the two locations since the 27th of december. we have got over 30 tonnes of equipment to load onto these barges,

nearly 50 kilometres of cable and wire that need to be connected and 4,500 individual firing cues that need to be wired in and tested. we are in a fairly good place at the moment, despite the weather. no pressure, then! how stressful does it get in the lead—up? it does get pretty stressful. this is my 14th year doing london new year's eve and no matter how many times you get the chance to deliver this show, there is always something new, something different that comes to surprise you. so we try and plan for everything. and fingers crossed, we will have a great show tomorrow night. but certainly, the last ten or 15 minutes before the midnight moment tomorrow, i am going to be quite nervous. you can't afford to have a bad day at the office, can you? no, a blank sky at midnight is definitely not an option. so we will make sure that we deliver. i've got good faith. there might be people watching this who think environmentally, is this the best idea?

what are you doing to mitigate that? public perception is that people believe that fireworks are very environmentally unfriendly, but that is not quite the case. relatively speaking, even a show of this size, the biggest show in the country, the output is probably not dissimilar to a 500 mile journey. everything we do in life has a carbon footprint and as a socially responsible company, we do our best to minimise and mitigate against that. we calculate the c02 output, including the miles that we drive from the factory to the site, and then we offset that on a uk tree—planting scheme. just quickly, this is an event that is famously shrouded in secrecy. any clues about what to expect tomorrow? none whatsoever. i'm going to maintain the secrecy. all i will say is we have a great show prepared, a 12 minute programme. it is going to celebrate the diversity and everything that london has to offer and we look forward to everyone enjoying the show and hopefully we will take on the applause at 12 minutes past midnight. thank you so much. this barge will be sent down

the thames this afternoon to the london eye, which will be also loaded with fireworks. it is a meticulous operation, 4,000 musical cues ready for the big event tomorrow, with millions watching the london fireworks display. megan erin there in east london trying to get the answers on the secrecy behind the event tomorrow night. secrecy behind the event tomorrow night. brazil's famous christ the redeemer statue has been given a temporary makeover. the enormous icon, which towers over rio dejaneiro, wore a number ten brazilfootball shirt on friday night, to mark the anniversary of the death of the legendary player pele. the image of the shirt was created by coloured lights projected onto the statue. some breaking news to bring you now, british oscar—nominated actor tom wilkinson has died aged 75. he also

starred in shakespeare in love and batman begins. that is all out from this half hour from batman begins. that is all out from this half hourfrom me. stay here. bbc news. —— stay here with us on bbc news. —— stay here with us on bbc news. hello there. good afternoon. still some more unsettled weather as we head through the rest of this weekend. feeling rather stormy at times. we've seen some snow across the central belt of scotland, such as here in glasgow, but the snow levels here will gradually lift through the afternoon. it will become more confined to the hills of scotland, but possibly some more travel disruption, heavy downpours of rain, particularly towards the west, with the risk of some coastal gales too and here is that deep area of low pressure just captured nicely on the satellite picture here, this large swirl of cloud, it's all moving further eastwards, but an improving picture across northern ireland for the rest of the day with some brightness around, but heavy rain across the south—west of england and wales. coastal gales here, that rain stretching up into northern england

and some more snow for the hills of central and northern scotland, perhaps another 5—10 centimetres accumulating. and of course, this could cause some more disruption to some of those major routes. now, as we head through this evening and overnight, then, our cold front will gradually be pushing further eastwards across into east anglia, central southern england, squally gusts of wind, particularly towards the south coast, gusts of wind here of up to 60—65 mph, potentially, along with some heavy downpours of rain, blustery showers digging in behind. not quite as chilly tonight across much of scotland and it's still mild towards the south. and this, of course, is new year's eve. during the day, we're likely to see some more blustery showers, some hail, some thunder, possible lighter winds across scotland and it should be largely dry, particularly towards the east. but again, it's quite gusty towards the south coast. it remains mild in the south, colder across much of scotland. but let's take a look at the big night itself. we're likely to see again, more blustery showers blow through. again, very windy with strong gusts of wind towards the south coast. could cause some disruption here. and while we're showing

lots of showers on the charts here, there will be a lot of dry weather around as well, perhaps a patchy frost across scotland where it will be feeling colder. the winds will be lighter here. into new year's day and it's a much quieter looking picture. we'll eventually start to see the winds pick up towards the south—west and some outbreaks of rain by the time we get to the end of the day. but as you can see, there's lots of dry weather. there will be some sunshine around. expect to see some more showers towards north—west england, perhaps the south—west of scotland, too. it stays largely mild as we head through the start of 2024. it's colder in scotland, of course, and it will be rather unsettled at times.

this is bbc news, the headlines. tank fire and air strikes have been reported in central and southern gaza. the un says around 150,000 palestinians are being forced to flee as the ground offensive by israel advances. flee as the ground offensive by israeladvances. more flee as the ground offensive by israel advances. more air strikes on russian cities near the ukrainian borders. moscow says at least 14 people have been injured. russia says the attacks will not go on punished. eurostar cancels all of saturday train services to and from london st pancras due to flooding in

a tunnel. it said affected customers should visit the website to find out what compensation they can receive. people from the world of sport, entertainment and charity are recognised in this year's owners list. liz trust has unveiled her resignation honours list. let's turn to the middle east, where gaza's hamas—run health ministry says 165 palestinians have been killed and 250 injured in the past 24 hours, as the israeli army continues its bombardment. israeli tank fire and air strikes are continuing in khan younis in southern gaza, which israel sees as a stronghold of hamas, considered a terrorist organisation by many western governments. residents report intense gun battles between israeli troops and hamas fighters there. the israeli army says its troops have killed dozens of hamas fighters in gaza city.

as the ground operations drive tens of thousands of people to flee, there are also