this is bbc news. the headlines at midday. israel condemns a un security council vote, calling for an end to settlements on occupied palestinian land. the actress carrie fisher is in intensive care after a suspected heart attack on a flight from london to la. rail passengers face delays, diversions and cancellations as work starts on a record number of engineering upgrades of the network. theresa may calls for britain to come together as it prepares to leave the eu, in her christmas message. also, big sam is back in a job, this time at crystal palace. the former england manager, sam allardyce, signs a 2.5 year deal at selhurst park following the sacking of alan pardew. and it's a festive click with digital jumpers, hatched technology and star wars drones. that's all in half an hour here on bbc news. 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, that 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 obama'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 obama'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. our middle east correspondent yolande knell spoke to me from bethlehem. the reaction of palestinian officials, some of whom have already gathered here in bethlehem for the christmas procession, is extremely enthusiastic. they have welcomed this from different palestinian factions. the chief negotiator calling it a victory for international law. this is a resolution that says settlements have no legal validity and they should be stopped to salvage the two state solution. the palestinians are hoping that this will help them in international legal cases that they are pushing

forward with against israel and its activities in the occupied territories. the israelis of course have condemned this extremely strongly. we had a statement from the israeli prime minister, he said this was absurd and anti—israel as a resolution. he said israel would not abide by its terms and reject the resolution. he was also very critical of president obama, because the us did not wield its veto power as it usually does. he said that actually president obama had colluded with the gang up at the un. he said that he would forward now to working with president—elect donald trump, who as we know, has been much more supportive of prime minister's right—wing policies and has appointed, nominated, an ambassador to israel, financially supported israeli

settlement building in the west bank he is critical of a two state solution and is himself even financially supported israeli settlement building in the west bank in the past. just to the edge of bethlehem, to give us a sense that even here it is possible to view one of the settlements, you can see the jewish settlement in the west bank just outside bethlehem. this is one of the largest settlements in the area. in total, there are about 600,000 jewish settlements who live in the west bank, including in eastjerusalem. that has expanded by about a third in the last decade. it is seen as illegal under international law, but as we know, israel disagrees strongly with that. the actress, carrie fisher, is in intensive care —

after a suspected heart attack on a flight from london to la. rail passengers face delays, diversions and cancellations as work we know that carrie fisher is in intensive care. her brother was quoted as saying that she is in a sta ble quoted as saying that she is in a stable position. that sounded more optimistic bucky clarified to say that he was uncertain what kind of condition she was in, other than she was receiving treatment in intensive care. and that the doctors were doing their best for her. an

interesting time in her career. star wa rs interesting time in her career. star wars launched her career but also reinvigorated her career recently to a new generation of fans. correct. the force awakens was released last year. this is the film where she spent a lot of time in the uk, filming. that is when she suffered at the medical emergency. it has introduced her to a new generation of fans. introduced her to a new generation offans. 0n introduced her to a new generation of fans. 0n social media in the last few hours, hordes of people have been expressing their views on her hands sending their best wishes. some of her co—stars taking to social media to express their thoughts at this time. peter mayhew, who played beside her in star wars, sent his wishes. and mark hamill. as

if 2016 couldn't get any worse, he said. she she has been trending on twitter. she has also been a successful screenwriter. yes, very prolific. that has gone on behind the scenes. she is very well respected for her work on screenwriting. she is a prolific writer of books, the latest is princess diarist. she revealed she had an affair with harrison ford. she is not afraid to tell it as it is. she has had problems over the yea rs is. she has had problems over the years with drink and drug abuse. and also she was open to depression and the discussion of her depression.

now some breaking news from nigeria. the president of nigeria... this was the militant group lies last enclave. a huge forest. this has been going on for months. they have been going on for months. they have been creating chaos. a lot of attacks in that area. and the government saw it as a priority to get in there and take it. they are saying they have taken the camp. the terrorists no longer have a place to hide, they say. we will bring you more on through the course of the afternoon. the search has been called off

for an elderly british woman who's presumed to have fallen overboard from a cruise ship off the east coast of the united states. she was a passenger on the cunard liner, queen mary 2, which was sailing from new york to the caribbean. the ship changed course to help the us coastguard look for her, but is now heading for the island of st maarten as planned. meanwhile, more disruption to transport in scotland is expected as a result of storm barbara. winds of up to 120mph 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. 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.

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 isa it is a big getaway day in london. how is it looking there? it has been getting busier as you would expect. more and more passengers walking through with heavy suitcases and lots of christmas presents. they weren't have gone from paddington, many of them making their way across the west country and wales. they could face further disruption

because there are changes at cardiff. and manchester is also affected, too. network rail says the reason they are doing this is because this is the best time to do this kind of thing. and they have the number of people who were nominally travel would travel now. less disruption. earlier, i spoke to the chief executive of network rail, and he expended by the improvements are needed. these are huge projects, the electrification of the great western railway, that is the sort of work going on behind as and crossrail. these can take years. until 2018. we are also doing hundreds of projects across the country, putting in new bridges, points, signalling systems. this will improve the reliability of the railway. passengers will see benefits. the reality is that for

years we have underinvested in our railway infrastructure. it is creaking at the seams. we have to pour money in and investment because the numbers of people travelling is increasing year—on—year. the numbers of people travelling is increasing year-on-year. some people will argue this isn't the best time to be doing this kind of work. surely there is another time when people aren't making significant journeys home over christmas and new year, but the key message from network rail is, check those journeys, details before you leave home today. for the moment, thank you very much. 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. meanwhile, the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has used his message to call for an end to sleeping rough. the british people have spoken and the answer is we're out. the eu referendum divided not just politicians

but communities and families. so against this backdrop, it's perhaps not surprising that in her christmas message the prime minister appeals for unity. in a separate message recorded for the armed forces, theresa may tells them that the government is on their side. because i want you and all your families to know that this government is on your side. jeremy corbyn says his thoughts are with those experiencing loneliness and despair at this time of year. he recently visited a homelessness charity in london and uses his christmas message to repeat the promise he gave them. labour has pledged to put an end to rough sleeping in our first term of government. we would do that by doubling the number of homes available for people who have been sleeping on the street.

lib dem leader tim farron filmed his message at a centre for child refugees in france and he called for more tolerance. the least traditional message was from the greens. they say 2016 was rubbish, or words to that effect, and they hoped next year is better. but there's one thing most politicians can agree on and that is to wish their voters a happy christmas. iain watson, bbc news. israel condemns a un security council vote — calling for an end to settlements on occupied palestinian land. the actress, carrie fisher, is in intensive care — after a suspected heart attack on a flight from london to la. rail passengers face delays, diversions and cancellations as work starts on a record number of engineering upgrades of the network. and from the afp news agency, they

say that the man involved on the attack in berlin, he is nephew and two other relatives have been arrested by authorities. there were lines of copy that his father wanted him to be arrested the genistein is stepping up their site of the investigation. —— tunisians. they are trying to establish whether he had help to prepare for the attack. 0fficials

had help to prepare for the attack. officials are investigating how he managed to ignore the deep edition —— deportation issues. they have these big outstanding questions. how did he manage to leave germany? when did he do that? did you have accomplices in germany? merkel asked if there were supporters, and said they would be brought tojustice. supporters, and said they would be brought to justice. how did he manage to stay so long in germany? how he ignored deportation orders. many questions. we are told that investigations are continuing at

full stea m investigations are continuing at full steam over the christmas period. and also the zone of open borders, he was able to travel from germany to fight and on italy. germany to fight and on italy. germany is polarised on this matter. there are some here: very strongly for border controls to be re—established. —— calling for. some say freedoms must be regarded, that the zone is one of the great achievements of the european union. angela merkel is pro—refugee, but not entirely open border because the border between austria and germany is seeing border controls. there are questions here. it is about, according to supporters of angela

merkel, it is about trying to find the balance between preserving the liberties and freedom of movement and also security. that is a debate thatis and also security. that is a debate that is very complicated, very difficult and is likely to go on. the tunisian authorities have arrested anis amri's nephew. authorities have reported a terrorist cell. this included the nephew. allegedly he used the encrypted chat application telegram, to bypass security. they were a p pa re ntly to bypass security. they were apparently in touch for some time. he was asked to pledge allegiance to

ias. he also confessed that anis amri centre money by post. —— is. 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 that on the tray. put it out. 0ver there. the frantic, last—minute rush of a christmas dinner. that one? 0n the westviewe state in fleetwood,

these young cooks are experiencing the heat of the kitchen. doing really well. i am proud of them. they are doing better than me. can you warm up the soup, then, please? but providing lunch from more than 30 elderly people isn't just about cooking. this is a chance to strengthen a community and develop some broader skills as well. i'm sure i am doing something good. for the community. and, like, 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 town like fleetwood, where a strong sense of community can help overcome some serious economic and health challenges. those lessons are being reinforce at school, where young cooks kieranand esme are building up their culinary skills. this is one of the school's most popular options

at gcse level, and it is taking these young people notjust how to cook, but the value of cooking. and the difference a good diet can make to their health. and the teachers here see notjust the physical benefits to a good diet, but better mental health, as well. kids cook at home and bring the pictures in on their mobile so we can see. they are still cooking at home and they really enjoy it. a lot of kids also say it destresses them if they cook. i like to cook at home because i don't feel i am under pressure. and what i produce, everybody is happy with. a community where a poor diet contributes to avoidable health problems such as type two diabetes and heart disease, educating the next generation about how to cook and what to cook isa key part in creating a healthier fleetwood for the future. back at the westview community association, the cooking is finally over, and dinner is served. i'd definitely come again if they are doing another one. yes, it is lovely. well appreciated. with roast spuds,

yorkshire pudding and stuffing, it is true that christmas dinner is perhaps not the healthiest meal of the year. but the skills these young chefs are learning here about cooking and working together and community... # good tidings we bring... #. ..are notjust for christmas. # we wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year #. the wait is almost over for fans of sherlock. the new series, which has been described by writers as the darkest yet, begins on new year's day. rumours of possible storylines have been flying around the internet, but the show‘s stars and crew have managed to keep it all a secret. we sent tim muffett along to the set see if he could tease anything out of the cast. the roads we walk have demons beneath. and yours have been waiting for a very long time. when you see a script

for the first time, what happens? you can see how brilliant imagination and work that has gone into this creation is and involves and then you pick out the details that relate to the original stories and then just beautiful little character arcs. some are remarkably long term in their planning. we are getting payoffs in this series that are to do with how this began. the beck and call of a screaming baby. it must be different. sorry, what? all you do is clean up their mess. we have seen scenes being filmed outside with crowds of fans watching. how does it affect the production? it can be like street theatre but the fans are respectful and understand we are doing a job and they are in our version of an office. the first series was a hit

in the uk, no one predicted what a global phenomenon sherlock would become. in china alone at least 98 million people are thought to have seen the last series. the show gets a reaction unlike anything i have seen. i have been involved with big things and nothing is like sherlock. you are a dad now in the show. how will that affectjohn watson? the stakes get higher in a different area in his life. we would never bring rosie out on the case. exactly, don't wait up. it wouldn't be much of the show if it was a domestic series. the bromance won't be broken up? no, no way at all. the show couldn't operate without that relationship. so i'm supposed tojust go home? shall we take him with us?

it is a much darker series. it is very intense. when we read the three episodes we all went, oh my god. are we going to do this? you are in this thing as well, how does that play out in your mind when you put ideas on the page? more lines. big lines, bigger scenes. it's not true. there is only one writer in the world has written a non—speaking part for himself and that is mark gattis. there are clues and plot points that we'd never write in case they get there are clues and plot points that we'd never write down in case they get out and i'm often the one who says them and ijust say them on the day, they're never present in the script

so there is no danger of them being leaked. what is the very worst thing you can do to your best friends? tell them your darkest secret. a man and a woman from derby, who were arrested on earlier this month on suspicion of engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism, are appearing before westminster magistrates. the acquisition of chemicals, mr mohammed was seeking asylum. and mrs al hassan is charged with him. they

we re al hassan is charged with him. they were arrested in a raid just under two weeks ago. mr mohammed is further charged with a membership of is. and possession of information useful to terrorism and dissemination of terrorist obligations. 0ur correspondent is that west minister magistrates. he will bring more news shortly. now, the weather. look at the number of isobars. that is more of a concern for northern scotla nd is more of a concern for northern scotland within the next 48 hours so. the showers are rattling across

the north of scotland. gusts of wind approaching 80 miles an hour. we will feel in the cloud with more rainfor will feel in the cloud with more rain for northern ireland. in the south, not too bad. some surgeon and not that cold. the northern half of the british isles, and where ever you start christmas day it is very mild. 11 up to 14 degrees. it should ease away affair across the western slopes. this weather front into northern ireland and western scotland. it turns colder the hide it. 11 to 14 for the south, hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: tunisia official sony have arrested

the nephew of the suspected attacker. they say they were part of attacker. they say they were part of a terror cell who commuted with him before the attack. israel has condemned a un security council vote — calling for an end to settlements on occupied palestinian land. prime minister benjamin netanyahu said that israel would not abide by friday's vote. the peaceful, not through un resolutions but only through direct negotiations between the parties. and that is why this proposed resolution is bad. carrie fisher, who played princess leia in the star wars films, is in intensive care after suffering a heart attack during a flight. fisher went into cardiac arrest minutes before her plane landed in los angeles. in her christmas message theresa may calls for britain to come together as it prepares to leave the eu. labour'sjeremy corbyn pleads for an end to sleeping rough.