welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: pope francis celebrates midnight mass at the vatican, calling on the faithful not to abandon god's love at christmas because of the church's failings. russian and turkish officials say they're trying to stop —— christmas reminds us that god continues to love us. god does not love you because you think and act the right way, he loves you plain and simple. his love is unconditional. russian and turkish officials say they're trying to stop the escalation of fighting in the syrian province of idlib, but the number of dead keeps on rising. critics say president trump's tough immigration policy is putting asylum seekers at risk. we have a special report from the us—mexico border. police in hong kong clash with pro—democracy protesters, during demonstrations in shopping centres popular with christmas tourists.

and we look back at one of the most extraordinary operations of the korean war — to save hundreds of thousands trapped in a north korean port. thousands of worshippers have packed st peter's basilica in rome for christmas eve midnight mass. pope francis told the faithful that god loves everyone, "even the worst of us", and urged them to give thanks. the pope, generally seen as a reformist leader of the catholic church, also spoke of change. this from our rome correspondent mark lowen. in the gilded splendour of st peter's basilica, this was a solemn christmas eve mass. amen. the seventh that pope francis has led.

his homily talked of god's love. "you may have mistaken ideas, you may have made a complete mess of things, but the lord continues to love you." that will be seen by some as a reference to church scandals, including sex abuse. francis‘ papacy is in many ways reformist — shaking up the traditional governance of the church. perhaps then, there was a pointed message in his words, "we change, the church changes, history changes, once we stop trying to change others, but try to change ourselves. " among those taking part in the liturgy were children chosen from countries including venezuela, iraq and uganda, a clear gesture from the leader of 1.3 billion catholics who often focuses on the plight of migrants and victims of war as well as on extending the reach of the church to its periphery. after the spirituality

of midnight mass, comes the pope's christmas day urbi et orbi message, where he's expected to touch a little more on political themes, close to the heart of the 83—year—old pontiff. mark lowen, bbc news. pilgrims from around the world have also been gathering in the town of bethlehem, revered by christians as the birthplace ofjesus, to celebrate christmas in the holy land. thousands converged on the town, in the israeli—occupied west bank. festivities are centred around the church of the nativity. from bethlehem, our correspondent barbara plett—usher. bells ringing this is bethlehem's time of year — when it invites the world to celebrate the story of a humble birth that changed history. the midnight mass is held in the grandeur of the church built to mark the place wherejesus christ is said to have been born, now located in the israeli—occupied west bank. it's been a difficult year for palestinians, but christmas is a time of hope. may the child of bethlehem arouse much tenderness in all of us

and make us smile once again. even if it does not solve all our problems, the child will certainly make us happier. for bethlehem's christians, there was a special gift from the vatican — a splinter of wood believe to be from jesus‘ manger. it's small, but a big boost for a community decimated by waves of emigration. and bethlehem is enjoying its busiest tourist season in decades. a bright spot despite dark times for the palestinian economy. earlier, the procession of christian leaders from jerusalem crossed into bethlehem through an israeli army checkpoint, in a concrete barrier that separates the two cities. in the holy land, the christmas cheer is always wrapped in political realities. it's a merry christmas here — lots of sparkling lights and happy people. but in this town and in this region, the situation is fragile.

so perhaps the only permanent thing is faith. the faith of things hoped for, if not yet seen. barbara plett usher, bbc news, bethlehem. russian and turkish officials say they have been trying to stop an escalation of fighting in the syrian province of idlib. syrian government forces, backed by russian planes, have been mounting an offensive against militia in the province. one of the latest attacks killed eight people, including five children, who were taking shelter in a school. gareth barlow reports. this is the moment an air strike hit buildings in idlib province. members of the white helmets volunteer rescue force searched through the dust and rubble for the terms. charred remains mark with syrian government forces, backed by russia,

have launched their campaign to reta ke have launched their campaign to retake the region from rebel fighters. dozens of civilians have been killed and injured in recent days. translation: we run away from rockets, carols and explosive shells. we are asking for god's mursi and the united nations to see what happened to us stop because of president bush and the russian army. they are killing us. turkey has wa nted they are killing us. turkey has wanted to struggling to cope with tens of thousands of refugees trying to cross the border. ankara is working with moscow, syria's ela, to try to hold the fighting. united nations, meanwhile, has called for an immediate and to the violence. the secretary general said he was deeply concerned about the military escalation in the north—west and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. reminded all parties of their obligations to protect civilians and freedom of movement. the syrian government, which has ca ptu red the syrian government, which has captured tens of towns, says it is

committed to recapturing the region and will try to protect civilians. but for communities who have already enjoyed eight years of conflict, many of whom have been repeatedly displaced, this latest round of fighting is all—too—familiar and deadly. gareth barlow, bbc news. it's christmas day in australia, but hundreds of families are spending the day in emergency shelters, unable to celebrate in their homes as the country battles some of its worst bushfires in years. figures released by firefighters in new south wales reveal nearly a thousand houses have been destroyed. conditions have eased, but another extreme heatwave is due later this week. phil mercer reports from new south wales. koalas and other australian animals are the unseen victims of the fires. much of their habitat has been destroyed and the survivors need all the help they can get. the true extent of australia's bushfire crisis is gradually emerging as the charred remains of devastated towns are inspected. since the start ofjuly, the authorities here in new south wales say almost 1,000 homes have been destroyed

by the bushfires. this property was devoured by flames that tore up through a gully at the back. communities like this terrorised by fires that, in many places, are simply burning out of control. we just want to make sure that you guys have got stuff for your community. the damage would be far worse without the efforts of volunteer firefighters. here in buxton, locals have been showing their appreciation to those who have been working around the clock to keep the town safe. it is just overwhelming support, like, you know, obviously, with presents and stuff for the kids. i haven't even done any christmas shopping or anything for my daughter. she will turn one on january the 11th. to boost the emergency efforts

the australian prime minister, scott morrison, says that volunteer firefighters who have jobs in the public service will be given four weeks‘ paid leave. some have been battling the fires for months and with no end in sight to the crisis, a long, dangerous summer lies ahead. phil mercer, bbc news, new south wales. let‘s speak to james morris from the new south wales rural fire service. full marks for christmas cheer in the circumstances. thank you for the stock how is it looking from that? good morning and merry christmas, mike, and to all the viewers right across the network. it is just after midday here in new south wales. tha nkfully midday here in new south wales. thankfully we have seen a bit of respite care across the state. in the last 2a hours we have seen 30—15 millimetres of rain falling across much of northern new south wales, which will hopefully put an end and

certainly for some time to fires across northern parts of new south wales. i certainly around the sydney area, central pulse, and southern parts of new south wales we still have a long way to go with next to no moisture falling across those areas. currently we still have around 79 bush and grass fires burning across new south wales, with around 30 of them still to be contained. actually we do have much cooler conditions today, which is allowing our firefighters to get the upper hand, start really working on containment lines, and are doing direct firefighting, which we haven‘t been able to do for some time, due to those deteriorating conditions double eight james, time, due to those deteriorating conditions double eightjames, we are hearing from some firefighters that a little bit of rain can make things worse because it makes back learning to contain fires so much more difficult. that‘s exactly right, mike. it certainly does. u nfortu nately, right, mike. it certainly does. unfortunately, obviously, sometimes when need fire to fight fire, and when need fire to fight fire, and when we have these much cooler and more humid conditions it really is challenging for those backbones to ta ke challenging for those backbones to take hold. so we do put things into

place such as working on those hard containment lines, doing direct attack firefighting where we can, where we can access those fires, otherwise it is utilising aircraft to do direct attack firefighting and for firefighters to do direct attack firefighting and forfirefighters on to do direct attack firefighting and for firefighters on the ground monitoring and patrolling these playgrounds, but we are expecting to see increased fire danger is coming into early next week, monday we are likely to see some very hot and dry as well as windy conditions, which could put challenging conditions therefore firefighters, both throughout the sydney and south coast of new south wales. i‘ve james, it really brings us and when we read these figures, just in new south wales, 1000 houses destroyed. on the other hand, looking at figures, more than 15,000 building safe, including 8000 homes. when you look at the pictures, how are you managing to save homes faced with those kind of conditions? overlooked, it really is a miracle.

all our firefighters, and it overlooked, it really is a miracle. all ourfirefighters, and it is not just firefighters, big shout out to the communities and the residents who have been banding together in this time to assist each other, that real community spirit of trying to protect each other‘s homes where u nfortu nately we could protect each other‘s homes where unfortunately we could not get a fire truck two. they have been doing a greatjob. we have had around 2000 firefighters out each day. we have had interstate and international cou nterpa rts had interstate and international counterparts coming in from fire services around the world, assisting, the united states and canada, we have people from new zealand, right around australia as well. certainly big were going into try to obviously contain these fires, but certainly protect times, as you said, nearly 1000 homes which have been destroyed, further which have been destroyed, further which have been destroyed, further which have been damaged, and that is a terrible loss to see, certainly the most we have ever seen here in new south wales, but to see close to 10000 and 15,000 homes are saved across these areas, that is a real big kudos not only to the firefighters and the community that went through some treacherous

weather to save and essentially work to bring these five —— fires under control. james morris from the new south wales rural fire service. you so south wales rural fire service. you so much for giving us your time. as mary a christmas to you as possible. likewise. merry christmas to you, mike, and all your viewers —— mary. there have been more violent clashes in hong kong between the police and anti—government protesters, who‘ve been holding christmas eve rallies in shopping malls and other areas popular with tourists. the city is reeling from its seventh straight month of protests, originally sparked by a now—scrapped extradition bill. the bbc‘sjon donnison reports. not much evidence of festive cheer in hong kong this year. security forces firing tear gas, once again squared up to anti—government protesters, doing their best to protect themselves with umbrellas. caught up in the chaos, tourists and families out and about to take in the christmas lights. demonstrators

also occupied a number of shopping malls in kowloon. but it soon turned ugly. malls in kowloon. but it soon turned as malls in kowloon. but it soon turned ugly, as baton wielding plainclothes undercover police moved in. several protesters were arrested and dragged away. others were injured stop as officers struggle to restore calm. and all of this on christmas eve. even though today is meant to be a joyful holiday, some of us are in jail, some have been arrested, and they can‘t enjoy today. i think we should remind others that our fate has not ended yet and we should continue ourfight has not ended yet and we should continue our fight stop translation: this year christmas eve seems to be the time to fight. not just christmas eve, but also new year's eve, and we will use more festivals in the future to voice our demands until the government

responds. the government has been forced to make some concessions, but these pro—democracy protests have 110w these pro—democracy protests have now been going on for seven months and, as the year comes to a close, there is no end in sight. jon donnison, bbc news. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: we look back at one of the most extraordinary operations of the korean war — launched to save hundreds of thousands trapped at a north korean port. the world of music‘s been paying tribute to george michael who‘s died from suspected heart failure at the age of 53. he sold well over 100 million albums in a career spanning more than three decades. the united states troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noriega. the pentagon says it's failed in its principle objective — to capture noriega and take him to the united states to face drugs charges. the hammer and sickle was hastily taken away. in its place, the russian flag

was hoisted over what is now no longer the soviet union, but the commonwealth of independent states. day broke slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of pan am‘s maid of the seas, nose down in the soft earth. you could see what happens when a plane eight storeys high, a football pitch wide, falls from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting more than 20 years. thousands went to midnight mass in the town of shkodra where there were anti—communist riots 10 days ago. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: pope francis has celebrated midnight mass at the vatican. he called on the faithful not to abandon god‘s love at christmas because of the church‘s failings. russian and turkish officials say they‘re trying to stop the escalation of fighting in the syrian province of idlib but the number of dead

keeps on rising. a british man and his two children have drowned in a swimming pool at a resort on the costa del sol, in the south of spain. it‘s believed a 9—year—old girl got into difficulties in the water and her brother and father drowned as they tried to rescue her. we spoke to fernando torres, a reporterfor the spanish newspaper diario sur, who has been at the resort for much of the day. we were told that it indeed was the girl with the troubles, perhaps with the pumps. the brother tried to help her and they had troubles too. there wasn‘t nobody at the resort but a recent manager told me that they don‘t need to, because the pool is too little to need a lifeguard there. so police are investigating the incident at the moment. divers were trying to find clues

but they didn‘t at the first look. the investigation is still open so they don‘t really know what happened so far. president trump has kept his promise to reduce the numbers of people being given asylum in the us. but his opponents, including the mexican government, say his new measures may be putting asylum seekers at risk. those who apply often face a wait in mexico for months, and even then, their chances are slim. for an increasing number, fleeing persecution in their own countries and unable to return, the crackdown has led them to desperate measures. ana gabriela rojas reports from matamoros, on the mexico—texas border. as winter approaches, this corner of the world becomes even more hostile to those seeking safety and security. fernanda is too scared to go home to honduras, where she‘s wanted for political activism.

desperate to reunite with family in the us, she has spent four months in the squalid conditions on the border. now, she has taken a step that fills any parent with horror — she sent her 7—year—old son across the border alone. so, fernanda took her boy to this border bridge and said goodbye. this man, too, had to make the difficult decision. he says he wanted to give his 8—year—old son a chance at the future. so, with a piece of paper with a relative‘s phone number on it, he sent him across the border alone.

president trump‘s crackdown on migration means fewer and fewer adults seeking refuge now get asylum. but if children arrive alone, the us must take them in. a lawyer who volunteers here says people are becoming increasingly desperate. now, almost on a daily basis, i talk to at least one, if not several families, who have now sent over children or teenage children who have presented themselves without their parents. this former asylum officer says america‘s migration system is designed to keep people out, even those at risk. the us government is doing this programme where they‘re not actually evaluating if someone would be

persecuted and tortured, and no matter what that individual says to the officer, they will be sent back to mexico, to the extent that we are sending back people that we know will be harmed. we are violating international law. fernanda‘s son is still in the custody of us authorities, but she says she has no regrets. what would you say to people who criticise you for sending your son? for her and many others, it is still unclear when or even if they will be reunited again. ana gabriela rojas, bbc news, from the us—mexico border. the operation codenamed christmas cargo is one of the most extraordinary stories of the korean war. in december 1950, hundreds of thousands of un forces and north korean refugees found themselves trapped in the port of hungnam. the rescue operation involved

hundreds of american ships, and it‘s thought there are at least a million descendants of those who helped that day, including the current president of south korea. laura bicker has the story. it was a race against time. the chinese army was advancing. thousands of un forces and north korean refugees were trapped at hungnam. ..theirfear of the communist regime... there was only one way out — by sea. translation: it was war. we knew we would die if we didn‘t get on board a ship. we didn‘t think of anything else. we didn‘t know where the ship was going. it didn‘t matter. loaded down with their few belongings... the us navy saved as many as they could. 100,000 north koreans left hungnam that day, never to return.

translation: we were bundled under blankets, so many were on the ship. we were alljammed together. a shower from a wave washed over me and my mum. we feared we were going to drown and become a sea spirit. ..after history's most successful evacuation. no—one died on board. instead, there was new life. five babies were born by the time the ship docked at gyeongju, in the south of south korea. lee gyeong—pil was one of them. translation: my mother was not prepared to give birth when she boarded the ship. so when i was born, the midwife had to use her teeth to cut my umbilical cord. it was december the 25th, christmas day, so people said the fact that i didn‘t die and was born was a christmas miracle. the americans didn‘t know any korean names, so affectionately called each baby ‘kimchi‘ after the fermented cabbage dish. mr lee was kimchi number five.

the day before christmas, the last battaltion of the third division is evacuated. rescuing civilians had never been part of the us navy‘s original plan. i think that‘s the miracle of this whole story is that so many people came together, they saw these refugees there, they were north korean refugees — technically the enemy — but you couldn‘t help but feel sorry for them. so somehow, itjust happened that these guys there at hungnam listened to their better angels and did what i like to say the right thing for the right reasons in a very difficult situation. after the last boat leaves shore, the order is given and the entire port blown up. the north korean port was destroyed by the americans as they left. thousands still died. but those who got the chance to live are forever grateful to have been part of this very special christmas cargo. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul.

now, if you‘re hoping that santa might deliver the latest tesla — the cyber truck — this christmas, but its price tag is a little above your budget, then this might be the answer. it‘s a mock tesla built by a russian car enthusiast and it‘s been turning heads on the streets of moscow. it‘s based on an old lada hatchback that he bought forjust over $1. it‘s not as environmentally friendly as elon musk‘s creation and still has its old engine powering it. you may not be surprised to hear that. since the real cyber truck‘s somewhat disastrous launch last month, tesla claim they‘ve received more than 200,000 pre—orders. for the mock tesla, the pre—order book is currently empty. in the same vein, we should probably tell you this. as you can imagine, santa claus is well on his way delivering presents around the world. the canadian and american defense agency norad, as usual, has been providing updates on santa‘s progress. he‘s currently in canada

with his next stop cape cod and has already delivered more than 4 billion gifts. it says here. thank you for watching. hello there. well, it doesn‘t look like there is going to be any snowfall on christmas day, but because it‘ll be quite cold, there could be a little bit of festive frost to start the day. and the reason for the settled cold weather for christmas day is this ridge of high pressure, which will settle things down, bring light winds and plenty of sunshine. but it is short—lived because this next area of low pressure will come sweeping in for boxing day to bring us all a spell of wet and windy weather. you will also notice as the wet and windy weather arrives, it‘ll push the christmas day blue cold air away from our shores and it will be replaced by the oranges and yellows, indicating very mild conditions, particularly as we end the week and start the weekend. but as we start christmas day, very early on, there‘ll be one or two showers around, but even these will fade. as the ridge of high pressure builds in, they will settle down, with clearing skies for many and with lighter winds will turn quite cold.

temperatures close to freezing in many places, with a touch of frost in places, maybe little bits of mist and fog too. so christmas day is looking cold, but dry, bright, plenty of sunshine, we‘ll have a little bit of festive frost to start the day in places. so a dry, sunny day for most, a little bit of patchy cloud for north—west england, perhaps northern and western scotland where there could be the odd shower, but even these will be fading through the day. sunshine will be fading across the far west, though. later in the day, high cloud starts to move in ahead of that weather the system. but most places will see the sunshine continue, but it‘s going to be a chillier day, particularly in the south, we have been used to temperatures in single figure for most. and as the temperatures fall away later in the day, it looks like fog could become a problem across central, northern and eastern england, so bear that in mind if you are heading out on the roads. it won‘t last long, we think, though, because the winds start to pick up ahead of this weather system and then the fog will tend to lift. it will turn much wetter and windy

by the end of the night across western areas. those temperatures also rising. but again, it will be quite a chilly one across the north and east of the uk. so a very different feel to the weather for boxing day. we‘re back to the unsettled theme, this area of low pressure bringing rain and strong winds, northern ireland, wales, south—west england, then pushing northwards and eastwards across the country through the day. could start quite chilly but dry across the north and the east, but the rain and wind will arrive. and, yes, the white there, we could see some transient snow over the higher ground of northern england and into the scottish mountains. those temperatures climbing to double figures in the south. but still quite chilly in the north and the east. but as we head through the week to friday and indeed the weekend, it‘s set to turn much milder thanks to southerly winds, those temperatures close to the mid—teens celsius in places. merry christmas.

this is bbc news. the headlines:

pope francis has ushered in christmas for more than a billion catholics by celebrating midnight mass at the vatican. alluding to the recent sexual abuse, and financial scandals afflicting catholicism, he called on the faithful not to abandon god‘s love because of the church‘s failings. russian and turkish officials claim they‘ve been discussing how to stop an escalation of fighting in the syrian province of idlib. around 80 civilians have been killed in the past week, including five children. several ceasefires have collapsed, in the mainly rebel—held provinced, and an offensive by syrian government forces, backed by russia, has been under way for a week. pro—democracy protesters in hong kong have clashed with the police. some threw umbrellas and other objects at officers, who beat protesters with batons and firing tear gas. demonstrations continued until midnight when protesters extended christmas day greetings to each other and police officers.