hang on, eu. —— overwhelmingly. hang on, maybe i should head back in there. no, ican‘t maybe i should head back in there. no, i can't miss all of that. hello, this is breakfast, with rogerjohnson and naga munchetty. train passengers are warned of delays, diversions and cancellations, as work starts on a record number of engineering upgrades on our rail network. iamat i am at ealing broadway where trains to paddington are terminating, because paddington is close to the next few days. good morning. it is christmas eve, saturday 2a december. also ahead: actress carrie fisher

is rushed to hospital, after a suspected heart attack on a flight from london. calls for unity, as the prime minister uses her christmas message to urge british people to come together after the brexit vote and a year of division. good morning. in sport: big sam is back. sam allardyce is the new manager of crystal palace. he signs a 2.5—year deal, replacing alan pa rdew. in the time it takes to cook your turkey, over one billion photos will have been shared online. we will be discussing the attraction of christmas posts. you have two post your christmas dinner, don't you? photos of christmas dinner, and the decorations. and the dog, normally, with her christmas presents. and nick has the festive forecast for us. good morning. storm barbara may be pulling away from the uk, but it remains windy today, tomorrow, and into boxing day. the latest on the blustery

christmas forecast coming up. good morning. first, our main story: extensive railway engineering works are starting across britain today, with 200 different projects being carried out over the christmas break. passengers in london, manchester and cardiff are expected to be the hardest hit by the work. one of the biggest stations in the capital, paddington, is closed, with passengers being told to go to ealing broadway. it is where our reporter jane—frances kelly is for us this morning. it will be somewhat busier than usual they are, one would suspect. it is going to be a lot busier, because gwr passengers who were hoping to go to paddington or travel out from there will have to come here. now, they can go to other stations. there are three other stations. there are three other stations that they can possibly go to, depending on where they are

travelling from. but this is part of a wider upgrade. paddington, for instance, has been closed for six days. that is because there is work being done on crossrail. there is also work being done on the heathrow express. now this is the biggest christmas upgrade by network rail, and they are spending £103 million. they will have 211,000 engineers on up they will have 211,000 engineers on up to 200 sites, and there will also be major engineering work in wales and manchester. they say they have to do it now because there are fewer people travelling, and they simply can't do this work while the tracks are actually being used. this means that the roads will be much busier, so that the roads will be much busier, so people are being advised to check before they travel, to go to the bbc travel website and other websites,

to make sure that theirjourney, that there is a train, and how long the journey is actually going to take. it promises to be a testing time. thank you very much indeed. and at 9:10am we will be speaking to the travel editor of the independent, simon calder. meanwhile, more disruption to transport in scotland is expected as a result of storm barbara. winds of up to 120 mph were recorded yesterday, and rail, road and ferry travel is again expected to be hampered today by gale—force winds. an amber alert has also been issued for the northern isles on boxing day. the met office has named it storm conor. we will bring you a full forecast and look ahead to this after 7:00am. the actor carrie fisher, best known for her role as princess leia in the star wars films, is in intensive care in a los angeles hospital after suffering a suspected heart attack. she was taken ill on a flight from london. a little earlier we spoke to our la reporter peter bowes. this report does contain some flashing images. she was heading back from london

to los angeles for christmas. she lives here in beverly hills, and the flight was about 15 minutes out from landing when she had what the emergency services are describing as a cardiac episode. that's been interpreted as having a heart attack. apparently there were a number of medical personnel on the flight, there were some nurses, people tried to help her. but she was reportedly unresponsive at that stage. the plane was met on the tarmac by paramedics, who also tried to work on her. she was then taken to hospital. and we know from carrie fisher's brother, todd, that she is in intensive care. he had earlier said that she had been in a critical condition, was then in a stable condition, but later clarified that he doesn't really know what her condition is, and simply appealed to people, as they are doing, to pray for the best,

that she is in intensive care, and as he put it, the doctors are doing their best. that was peter bowes reporting. german investigators are trying to establish whether the tunisian man who carried out the berlin christmas market attack had a network of supporters. questions are also being asked about the ease with which anis amri was able to flee to italy, where he was shot dead by police yesterday. 12 people died and 12 others were seriously injured when he drove into a crowded christmas market on monday. israel has angrily rejected a un security council resolution demanding a halt to the building of israeli settlements in occupied palestinian territory. the vote passed after the united states, israel's traditional ally, abstained rather than using its veto. our state department correspondent barbara plett—usher reports. in a rare show of unity, the un security council passed judgement on israeli settlements... translation: 14 votes in favour. ..voting that they had become a serious threat to a viable peace

deal with the palestinians. it was that conviction which led the us to withhold its customary protection of israel at the council, although not without much soul—searching. because there are important issues that are not sufficiently addressed in this resolution, and because the united states does not agree with every word in this text, the united states did not vote in favour of the resolution. the israelis had managed to delay but not prevent the vote. they felt betrayed by their ally, especially angry about condemnation of their construction in occupied eastjerusalem. who gave you the right to issue such a decree, denying our eternal rights in jerusalem? israel has long pursued a policy of building jewish settlements on arab land captured during the 1967 war. it insists it has the legal right to do this, but most of the world disagrees, and the un resolution will make that argument even more difficult.

halting settlements was the focus of president 0bama's attempts to broker peace. he failed twice. resorting to the un was his final act. the palestinians embraced this as a victory for international law. but they can't expect the same from mr 0bama's successor, donald trump, who sided with the israeli government on this. the un resolution could become a reference point for further moves against israel in international forums, but not for the next us administration. barbara plett—usher, bbc news, washington. the prime minister has called for britain to come together, as it prepares to leave the eu. in herfirst christmas message, theresa may says the country must prepare to forge a bold new role in the world. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has highlighted the plight of homeless people during the festive season. and in a few minutes we will discuss the content of those messages in more detail, and how the political landscape has changed in the last 12 months.

that is at 7:10am. the british—born astronaut piers sellers has died of pancreatic cancer, at the age of 61. originally from east sussex, he then became an american citizen, which allowed him to join nasa's space programme. he took part in three missions between 2002 and 2010, spending a total of 35 days orbiting earth. temperatures at the north pole could be up to 20 degrees higher than average today, in what scientists say is a record—breaking heatwave. they say an air temperature of just below freezing, instead of the usual minus 30, is preventing ice from forming. the researchers claim it is directly linked to man—made climate change. the first gorilla born in a zoo has celebrated her 60th birthday. coco, who is also the oldest gorilla in america, celebrated by opening presents and eating lots of treats. she has got three children, and is a great—great—grandmother. gorillas typically only have a life expectancy of 30 to a0 years. 60 years

60 yea rs really 60 years really is quite a significant milestone. she deserves all of those presents as well. happy birthday, and a happy christmas to her as well. like many of us, our mps are off for the festive season, but no such luck for their party leaders. they have been busy issuing their christmas messages, sharing with us what matters to them. brexit, rough sleeping, and caring for child refugees are just some of the issues close to their hearts. with us now is the political analyst professorjon tonge, from the university of liverpool. good morning, nice to see you. good morning. thank you for being here. three different subjects have been alluded to bear. let's talk about theresa may first of all. she faces the biggest challenge she will face in her political career. she has one of the biggest challenges in postwar political history. her christmas m essa 9 es political history. her christmas messages about the need for reconciliation. referendums are

divisive issues, for some it has been the best year ever and they are absolutely delighted, for the 48% remainers, they remain upset what happened. theresa may's message is that we can't go into 2017 arguing amongst ourselves, we need to unite asa amongst ourselves, we need to unite as a nation and get the best deal possible. i don't want to appear scrooge like, what i will give that until the supreme court makes its decision in january about article 50. that is when the political rows will break out again. there will be a brief hiatus over christmas, but that will not last long. we will come to the other party messages in a moment. do we need to have christmas messages from the politicians? we expect one from the royal family, from the queen, of course, but politicians giving us a message from christmas, is that what we want? it is quite a recent development and i do question the need for these messages. the monarch has been issuing the messages since 1932, and everyone knows at 3pm on

christmas day it will be on, but do we need messages from politicians? even political obsessives like ourselves want to switch from politics for a few days, and i am not sure whether they ever go beyond the bland and banal. that is not to be dismissive of the messages of reconciliation and healing. why wouldn't you issue though is that christmas? theresa may's is interesting because of the personal touch, those who have to work on christmas day, and she says as the daughter of a vicar she knows it can bea daughter of a vicar she knows it can be a difficult time. she indulged in delayed gratification because she didn't open her presence in the late afternoon, after her father had done the rounds of the village, which is perhaps not the usual experience that we would have experienced. there are serious messages. they have been talks of the need to look after child refugees, saying that jesus, mary and joseph were refugees in their own time. jeremy corbyn has emphasised homelessness. these are all important issues, ijust wonder

whether people are listening to politicians at this time of year. interesting, jeremy corbyn who you mentioned, picking on issues which are mentioned, picking on issues which a re close mentioned, picking on issues which are close to their hearts, i suppose, rather than the big political issues, the big legal issues, don't get me wrong, but homelessness, refugees, brexit obviously the big east, isn't it? yes, but trying to make political issues on a more humanitarian basis, it isa issues on a more humanitarian basis, it is a logical time of year to do that, in the same way that the theresa may's message, and the persecution of christians, why wouldn't you raise that at either christmas or easter? i wonder whether it will resonate further. for theresa may, 2016 was tough enough at that is nothing compared to what is happening in 2017. therein lies the difficulty. straightaway she has the supreme court decision to deal with. she has to sort out how to trigger article 50 by her own timetable by the end

of march. so christmas day might be a day off, but after that it is almost straight back to work. a day off, but after that it is almost straight back to worklj think you are in for a very busy 2017, as we are as well. you're watching breakfast from bbc news. the main stories this morning: a record number of engineering works are under way on britain's rail network, with around 10% of the network affected over christmas. theresa may has used her christmas message to urge britain to "unite and move forward" after the brexit vote. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has highlighted the plight of homeless people. also coming up in the programme: we'll check in with the click team as they unwrap some christmas goodies and look back at 2016's finest technology news. we are going to look ahead to the weather now. storm barbara has blown away, and we are in for a mild christmas day? that's right. that is

in between storms as temperatures rise for christmas day. another storm coming for boxing day in northern scotland. some turbulent weather continuing this weekend. windy and destructive winds, especially across the northern half of the uk. let me show you the satellite image. storm barbara is beginning to edge away northwards from the uk. a bit of a gap but strong westerly winds before the next system comes in. this area of cloud has been named by the met 0ffice cloud has been named by the met office as storm connor, and will be battling the far north of scotland and the northern isles on boxing day. one weather system after another at the moment. looking ahead to boxing day, conor arrives. let's ta ke to boxing day, conor arrives. let's take a look at the weather this morning. the picture at nine o'clock, very windy across scotland, and they are snow showers around, especially north of the central belt. difficult conditions on the higher rates. northern england and ireland getting some wintry nest. hale and thunder possible. further

south, much quieter. 0ne hale and thunder possible. further south, much quieter. one or two light showers running into wales and south england. elsewhere, a lot of fine weather and sunny spells as well, especially during the first pa rt well, especially during the first part of the day. the showers continue to push across northern england, northern ireland and scotland. snowy showers in northern scotland. snowy showers in northern scotland. a spell of rain coming into northern ireland through the afternoon. temperatures for many will be in single figures. a bit of a bite to that wind as well. tonight, things are going to change. it will turn milder. an area of mild air between the system pushing in across the uk. plenty of cloud. western parts of the uk seeing outbreaks of rain. mild air means it will not feel like able —— able like christmas this morning. double figures, 1a or 15 celsius. plenty of cloud around. windy across the uk. gales across the northern half. some

outbreaks of rain developing along the weather front. parts of northern ireland, scotland and north wales through the day. but late in the day, colder air reaching into scotland. snow showers coming into the hills. towards the end of the day, we might see that white christmas we dream of. through christmas we dream of. through christmas day night in to boxing day, storm connor started to bat at the northern half of the uk again, especially northern scotland, with the met office has an amber warning in force. gusts up to 90 mph. windy across the board on boxing day. a bit of dry weather away from showers, especially in scotland. the best sunshine further south. if you don't mind winds, not bad for the boxing day walk. snow and ice around, but a very mild christmas day. that is how it is looking. are you surprised by these temperatures? the north pole is 20 degrees warmer than expected this time of year. people are putting down to climate

change. these temperatures really do seem change. these temperatures really do seem unusual. is thatjust me misinterpreting the weather again? absolutely right. into the arctic, thatis absolutely right. into the arctic, that is a huge, huge story, going on for a while now. for the uk, these temperatures on boxing day are close to average. but it is christmas day that it will be exceptionally mild. close to a record for christmas day. it looks like we will maybe for a degree also short, but when you get temperatures like this, it is very unusual. december last year was the warmest on record. if we carry on this way, we could end up in the top ten warmest decembers on record. we will keep you updated on that. but it is still warm enough to wear a christmas jumper? it is still warm enough to wear a christmasjumper? of course! we have those snow showers in scotland, so put it on! thank you very much. we will speak to you later. it will be a crazy christmas is for

people doing their frenzied friday christmas shopping. for many people, cooking christmas dinner can be a bit of a chore, but in one part of lancashire, it's being used a way to improve people's physical and mental health. a group of young cooks in the seaside town of fleetwood have taken on the challenge of dishing up a turkey dinner for some of the area's elderly residents — and it's brought a whole host of surprising benefits. 0ur correspondent dominic hughes has been following the town for the last year as it tries to tackle its health challenges, and has sent this report. get another tray and put it on the bottom. the frantic last—minute rush of a christmas dinner. 0n the westview estate in fleetwood, these young cooks are experiencing the heat of the kitchen. they are doing well. i am proud of them. they are doing better than me. but providing lunch for more than 30 elderly people is not just about cooking. this is a chance to strengthen the community and develop broader skills. ifeel like i can do something good for the community. it is a warm feeling.

it is good because i get to socialise with everybody and make new friends and build my confidence and everything. and that is important in towns like fleetwood where a strong sense of community can help overcome some serious economic and health challenges. those lessons are reinforced at school where these young cooks are building their culinary skills. this is one of the school's most popular lessons at this level. it is notjust teaching how to cook but the value of cooking and the difference a good diet can make to their health. and the teachers see not only the physical benefits of a good diet, but better mental health as well. kids cook at home and send pictures on their mobile phones so we can see they are still cooking at home. many say it reduces their stress.

they do not feel like they are under pressure at home and everyone is happy with what they produce. in a community where a poor diet contributes to avoidable health problems like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, educating the next generation about how to cook and what to cook is a key part of creating a healthier fleetwood for the future. back at the west view community association, the cooking is finally over and dinner is served. definitely come again if they are doing another one. it was lovely. well appreciated. the yorkshire pudding and potatoes showed that it is true that christmas dinner is perhaps not the healthiest dinner of the year, but the skills these young chefs are learning here about cooking and also working together and community are for life and not just for christmas. # we wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year.#. they all enjoyed their christmas

lunch. it is good to see. this christmas is set to be the most "shared" christmas ever. it's estimated that we'll post an estimated 7 billion photos on social media on christmas day alone. goodness me. what should we be posting? pictures of turkey, i suppose. and what advice should we give children? let's see what some of you think about using social media during the festive period. sometimes when people take a picture of their presence and power them up, it is like what did i get at christmas. you have to post a picture of christmas dinner. christmas dinner, definitely. photos of christmas dinner. the standard. decorations. those new year 's

resolutions. which they never followed through. go on a diet and all of that. people tend to go out a lot about what they get, especially people who say, my boyfriend got me... and when you are single, you are like, please go away. joining us now is digital marketing and technology expert dan sodergren. good to have you with us. i am going to be grinchy about this. ijust good to have you with us. i am going to be grinchy about this. i just say enjoy christmas and if you are lucky enough to have the day off, enjoy it. have your moments with your family and friends. you don't need to share this. i don't think that is really grinchy. it is about being mindful. if you are taking yourself away from their christmas moment to ta ke away from their christmas moment to take a picture, there are times and places. be a bit more mindful. maybe

enjoy the moment. but i don't think we should not be taking pictures at the moment. i think we can enjoy it and take pictures as well. the moment is often a photograph for people. we share it every other day of the year, why not christmas. you should share stuff on christmas day. it is more way to use sherrod? we have to be mindful about that, especially for young people. —— where do you share it? are they sharing every detail about their lives? that is potentially dangerous. there is a potential problem with parents not really checking what their kids are doing, and maybe not teaching them. there isa and maybe not teaching them. there is a difference between what a very young person does and someone of my age or young person does and someone of my age 01’ your young person does and someone of my age or your age. are you saying i'm not a young person? it is a debate. i have this conversation with my own kids about putting stuff on there that in years to come might come back to bite you. obviously they will not have had a drink on

christmas day, but who knows? absolutely. you have to think about your digital footprint. we teach the young people, not just your digital footprint. we teach the young people, notjust under 18 but under 30 etc, you might be affecting how you are seen in the job market. you have to be a little bit wary. we are all becoming a little bit more wise about social media, idly? that has happened quickly over the past year or two. -- aren't we? there is a bit more digital commonsense, and they are teaching that more in schools as well. i'm not saying... it is about being mindful any intention of it. i'm not saying let's be grinchy and stop sharing, but if you took a photo album and have 1000 pictures, which it leave it out for anyone in the world to see? facebook settings and social media settings, locate your privacy stuff. you sharing with the public? surely you don't need to do that. think about sharing your geolocation. that is potentially

dangerous as well. you have to be careful with that. the slightly bigger picture is are we giving facebook and all of these other people the data? too much data? what picture will you post on christmas day? are right to the mill, of course. lots of stabs. —— the christmas meal of course, lots of snaps. good to talk to you. thank you. it's christmas, so it's time to dust off those board games and gather the family together — but are they still as popular in the age of mobile phones and tablets? market researchers say they've seen a rise in the sales of tabletop games thanks to the growth of new titles targeted at families. but do theyjust cause household bust—ups? does the same person always win in your house? we asked you what you enjoy — and hate — about board games. playing games is a chance to switch of the screen. it gives you more

opportunity for conversation. i'm really competitive and love the social aspect of being with friends and family. we tend to do that a lot at christmas time in particular. there is something different for everybody. you can be brittle and kill all of yourfriends, or you could be working together and save the world. it can take you away from real—life —— brittle. the world. it can take you away from real-life -- brittle. it is something missing in society. people have come back to board games to reconnect with people. family arguments, you just have to stick to the roles and make sure you know the rules properly. i have been known to throw things and suck, and i have to keep telling myself it is only a game, but it feels like a lot more than that —— sook. game, but it feels like a lot more than that -- sook. would you ever throw something over a christmas boardgame? you've done it! no, i haven't. but i'm competitive. maybe not as competitive as you. we'd love to know what your favourite board games are. do they divide you or bring you

together? you can email us at bbcbrea kfast@bbc. co. uk or share your thoughts with other viewers on our facebook page. and you can tweet about today's stories using the hashtag #bbcbreakfast — or follow us for the latest from the programme. still to come on breakfast: we all know that mike bushell is the strongman of breakfast, but how did he get on in the uk christmas tree throwing competition? find out later in the programme. stay with us. headlines coming up. hello, this is breakfast, with rogerjohnson and naga munchetty. richard will have all your sports news in a few minutes. but first, at 7:30am, a summary of this morning's main stories. train passengers across britain are being warned they could face delays, diversions and cancellations over the christmas break. network rail is beginning a record number of engineering works, with 211,000 engineers working on the network. those travelling from london, manchester and cardiff are expected to be the hardest—hit. rail, road travel is expected to be

affected by gale force winds. an amber alert has been in place for boxing day. we will bring you a full forecast and take a look at exactly where the impact will be felt across the country. the american actor carrie fisher is in intensive care in a los angeles hospital, after suffering a suspected heart attack. the 60—year—old was taken ill on a flight from london to los angeles. best known for her role as princess leia in the star wars film, she had been in the uk promoting her memoirs. the un security council has passed a resolution demanding a halt to israeli settlement—building on occupied palestinian land,