these are the only shoes he wears now, he says, deemed "beautifully chosen" by prince charles when they met, a rare outing for hockney. i'm usually drawing or painting, yeah. i mean, it's all i want to do now. i mean, i'm 85. how much longer do i have? i'm a smoker. i might have five years, i don't know. yeah, i've had a very, very good life. i would say i live in the now. it's the now that's eternal, isn't it? eternal too, hockney�*s joyful art. katie razzall, bbc news. celebrations have been taking place at stonehenge today, to mark the winter solstice. thousands of people watched the sunrise at the ancient neolithic monument following the longest night

of the year in the northern hemisphere. a large crowd of pagans and druids were among those to gather this morning. english heritage allows people near to the stones to mark key occasions. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. the christmas day forecast is coming up the christmas day forecast is coming up but today, rather than white, it's been a grey day, particularly across england and wales we've seen this cloud streaming in from the atlantic, that's where we've seen most of the rain and drizzle. that's the radar picture over the past couple of hours and heavy rain has been pushing through the english channel. it's tending to rip move through, it may turn drier by the end of the afternoon. mild, cooler further north, broken cloud and showers moving down into scotland, those will continue overnight. they turn a bit wintry. still got some patches of mist and fog here and there but generally a lot of cloud and in the south—west late of the

wind picks up, we see rain keeping it on the mild side. head further north and it will be a bit cooler, especially in scotland and given some earlier showers they could be patchy ice as well. tomorrow, a cooler day across scotland with showers, the rain in the south—west doesn't last long, it sweeps northwards and eastwards across england and wales and comes to rest across northern ireland in the afternoon. following the rain we get some sunshine, a few blustery showers at the far south—west later, south of that rain band we have mild air. north of the rain band it's a bit cooler, 4—5 in scotland. that band of wet weather is on the weather front there as it moves northwards overnight. we hit the cold air, we will start to see some snow falling overnight into christmas eve. mainly north of the central belt over the hills, there could be sent several centimetres of snow here. the wintry mix moves northwards generally clearing out of the way and we follow that with christmas eve with showers. some sunshine and the temperatures

reaching double figures. the winds will pick up on christmas eve especially around irish sea coast sandhills. it's a southerly wind so we have a mild air mass across the uk as we head into christmas day. christmas day, if you are heading out for a walk, probably best across the eastern side of the uk. further west we will see some showers, some of those heavy particularly towards the north—west. but a mild day on christmas day. 9 degrees at the central belt of scotland, 12 in southern parts of england and wales but there is cold air lurking on the far north—west so it if it is going to be a white christmas it will be on the far north—west on scotland after dark when we could see wintry showers. the colder air in the north—west sweeps down across the whole of the country on boxing day and brings some more wintry showers across the north—western areas but the cold air is not going to last long. by tuesday we are back into mild atlantic air and more rain.

that's it, so goodbye from me. now on bbc one, let'sjoin our news teams where you are. have a very good afternoon. good afternoon. you're watching bbc news. i'm ben croucher with a sports update for you. we'll start with football, where manchester city host liverpool this evening in the last of the league cup fourth round matches. in recent seasons, heated clashes on and off the field have grabbed the headlines, but both clubs have called for calm. as for the football, it's their first match since the world cup — and with the likes of erling haaland and riyad mahrez fully rested having not played in qatar, city boss pep guardiola feels those returning from the world cup are that much sharper. they combine so good, perfectly. they combine so good, perfectly. they compete, they train every day, and we have holidays, that's why it

is most important to keep the rhythm and for the players who were not in the world cup to gain the rhythm. we will try and they will try, it's not a _ we will try and they will try, it's not a strange situation. it is a strange — not a strange situation. it is a strange situation being, coming back for the _ strange situation being, coming back for the world cup and having this fixture _ for the world cup and having this fixture straight after. but as i said. — fixture straight after. but as i said. we _ fixture straight after. but as i said, we will try and the team has already— said, we will try and the team has already proved in the past, wherever players _ already proved in the past, wherever players are _ already proved in the past, wherever players are on the pitch, that they will make — players are on the pitch, that they will make it a top show. doctors treating the brazil legend pele say he will remain in hospital during the christmas period because his cancer has advanced. the three—time world cup winner — now 82 — has been in hospital for the past few weeks. he had a tumour removed from his colon last year and has since had regular treatment. he's brazil's all—time leading men's scorer with 77 goals in 92 games and helped his country win the world cup in 1958, 1962 and i970. england pacemanjofra archer is poised for his first international appearance in nearly two years. he's been named in their one—day squad to tour south africa at the end of january.

archer hasn't played since march 2021, largely due to an ongoing back and elbow injuries. mark wood is rested, liam livingstone is injured, whilstjoe root isn't included — so he's signed up to play in the uae t20 league instead. india have taken an early stranglehold on the second test against bangladesh in mirpur, bowling the hosts out for 227 on the opening day. four wickets from ravichandran ashwin did much of the early damaged as oonly mominul haque made more than 26, his side having chosen to bat first. umesh yadav also claimed four—fer. in reply, india closed on 19 without loss — leading the two—test series 1—0. italy prop shereef traore has accepted an apology from benetton team—mates after he was given a rotten banana during the club's secret santa. in a social media, post traore — who is black — revealed the present from an anonymous colleague drew laughterfrom other squad members. the club initially released a statement condemning racism but made no mention

of an investigation into traore's claim. we could see men competing in artistic swimming at the olympics for the first time in 202a. the international olympic committee has approved their inclusion in the team event from the paris games. men have been allowed at the world championships since 2015 in the sport formerly known as synchronised swimming. leading competitor giorgio minisini said the evolution towards inclusivity was on fast forward. that's all the sport for now. just a reminder that tennis' battle of the brits continues in aberdeen today. honour and pride rather than ranking points are at stake. right now there's a doubles match taking plce between scotland's jamie murray and jonny o'mara and england's pauljubb and neal skupski — you can watch it live right now on the bbc sport website. there are three more matches later with andy murray involved in two of them. ben, thank you. the kremlin has heavily criticised

president zelensky�*s visit to the united states, describing the trip as evidence that the us is fighting an "indirect war" against russia. a spokesman said the american support for ukraine was extending the conflict. president biden has confirmed the us will provide £1.7 billion worth of additional military aid — including, for the first time, the patriot missile defence system. annita mcveigh spoke to the former commanding general of the united states army in europe. and the head of the security programmes at the foreign policy council ukrainian prison. she started by asking how important the visit was to build relationships with republicans who have queried the amount of money being given to ukraine. we understand that ukrainian question is also following the domestic policies, that's why we understand that the influence of this visit is at least three

directions. first, that is for the american taxpayers and congressmen and congas women and all the rule makers and executives who have been working on this, this gratitude is extremely important considering the amount of support we receive. the second is definitely even that the first eye to eye contact has been between the presidents or other lawmakers for some time, but to renew these as have been emphasised for both sides that the personal contact is very important for the future cooperation. the third is that about the future and to speak about the future is easier and it is you have all those emotions the ukrainian delegation brought but not only with the paper and the letters. morale has been discussed a lot since this invasion happened on the 24th of february, both in the context of poor morale amongst russian soldiers, the very strong

morale of ukrainian fighters stop is this war progresses, how important do you think this visit, the renewed package of aid from the us, will be in boosting ukrainian morale? for ukrainian in boosting ukrainian morale? fr?" ukrainian morale, the biggest thing you need is the understanding for what you're fighting. that is probably the most important thing. when you don't understand for what you fight, you cannot be... ukrainian armed forces understand they are fighting for their freedom and sovereignty. most of the russian army do not understand for what they are fighting except for some of the propaganda from the government, you don't know who has these territories. so in this case the ukrainian armed forces don't have additional motivation but at the same time it is definitely easier morally to fight when you understand you're not alone, that you have

support from countries like the us, uk, germany and all others that are providing weapons to ukraine and other types of support. because you understand that he will not be betrayed, nobody is asking you to surrender and that your partners are ready to support you in all measures.— ready to support you in all measures. ~ , ., measures. we must leave it there, thank ou measures. we must leave it there, thank you very _ measures. we must leave it there, thank you very much. _ aren'tjoint by the aren't joint by the former commanding general of the united states army in europe, ben hodges. thank you for your time today. —— i'm joint. thank you for your time today. —— i'mjoint. president zelensky thank you for your time today. —— i'm joint. president zelensky really brought the battlefield to washington, both in his clothing, his fatigues, and that flag which he presented to members of congress, signed by front line soldiers. what signed by front line soldiers. what a terrific example _ signed by front line soldiers. what a terrific example of _ signed by front line soldiers. twist a terrific example of positive leadership and the importance of a personal connection are just like when winston churchill came to

washington 81 years ago, this is very real, that he can sit there and talk to the president of the united states and the members of congress and to the american media in person. so a very powerful visit, very well done and i was proud of both sides how it turned out. less done and i was proud of both sides how it turned out.— how it turned out. less talk about what ukraine _ how it turned out. less talk about what ukraine needs _ how it turned out. less talk about what ukraine needs now, - how it turned out. less talk about what ukraine needs now, we - how it turned out. less talk about j what ukraine needs now, we have heard a lot about the patriot missile system and is my last guest was talking about, artillery, long—range precision artillery, tanks and other vehicles, give us your take on what ukraine needs as it heads towards almost a year of this war. flit it heads towards almost a year of this war. .., , it heads towards almost a year of this war. _, , ., , this war. of course, loved listening to hannah. — this war. of course, loved listening to hannah, she _ this war. of course, loved listening to hannah, she is— this war. of course, loved listening to hannah, she is equal— this war. of course, loved listening to hannah, she is equal to - this war. of course, loved listening to hannah, she is equalto an - to hannah, she is equal to an armoured division of combat power herself! the three parties based on my assessment and what i hear from my assessment and what i hear from my ukrainian friends and others is of course, the long—range precision powers which would enable ukraine to keep pressure on russian logistics, specifically on the two lines of communication that go into crimea,

the land bridge and the other bridge. having a 300 kilometre range weapon would really change the game there and enable ukraine to accelerate towards a victory and liberation of chrome area —— macrame by the end of eczema. number two, the air and missile defence systems necessary to protect not only innocent ukrainian civilians but also the power grid that is needed not only for a light and heat but to keep industry and trains moving. the third thing is armoured vehicles are specifically american, british or german tanks and infantry fighting vehicles that would be a useful tool in the eventual resumption of the counter offensive. i in the eventual resumption of the counter offensive.— counter offensive. i want to take ou said, counter offensive. i want to take you said. the — counter offensive. i want to take you said, the liberation - counter offensive. i want to take you said, the liberation of - counter offensive. i want to take | you said, the liberation of crimea by the end of eczema, do you really think that is achievable? i by the end of eczema, do you really think that is achievable?— think that is achievable? i would not sa it think that is achievable? i would not say it if _ think that is achievable? i would not say it if i _ think that is achievable? i would not say it if i didn't _ think that is achievable? i would not say it if i didn't believe. -- l not say it if i didn't believe. —— by the end of next year. assuming of

course that the west sticks together and that we deliver everything that we said we are going to deliver. i think that many smart, good people are sceptical of this because they are sceptical of this because they are thinking in terms of a frontal assault if you will into crimea, i don't think that is the are looking at it, i think they will continue this deliberate and methodical destruction of russian logistics, ammunition storage, transportation networks and headquarters, to the point then, with long—range precision powers, crimea starts looking like a trap and becomes untenable for russian forces. but what kind of— untenable for russian forces. but what kind of reaction, sorry to interrupt, would that provoke from russia, and what is russia's capability right now?- russia, and what is russia's capability right now? well, of course, capability right now? well, of course. i— capability right now? well, of course, ithink— capability right now? well, of course, i think we _ capability right now? well, of course, i think we worry - capability right now? well, of course, i think we worry too i capability right now? well, of- course, i think we worry too much about how russia might react. we have been deterring ourselves for months, and every time we finally take a step to provide new weapons

system, for example when we have been worried about a russian escalation, they have done nothing because they can't do anything. they have used up most of what they have, they are expending precision weapons against apartment buildings that they can no longer replace because of sanctions. they are having to get soldiers out of prison, prisoners, to fill the ranks of permissions and they are pushing them into a battle and trained and poorly equipped. the russians are not stupid and if we give them unlimited amounts of time, they will eventually correct some of they will eventually correct some of the problems that they have been having. but i think we should get used to the idea that ukraine is going to actually defeat russia on the battlefield, the old fashion way, as long as we give them the things that they need for operation, long—range precision powers and armoured vehicles. long-range precision powers and armoured vehicles.— long-range precision powers and armoured vehicles. what role will the patriot _ armoured vehicles. what role will the patriot missile _ armoured vehicles. what role will the patriot missile system - armoured vehicles. what role will the patriot missile system play i armoured vehicles. what role will the patriot missile system play inj the patriot missile system play in that? , , ., ., that? this is an important thing. it does represent _ that? this is an important thing. it does represent a _ that? this is an important thing. it does represent a significant - that? this is an important thing. it does represent a significant step, l does represent a significant step, increase in capability, but we need

to be clear, capability of a battery of patriot missiles which will probably have around six launchers and i imagine probably with accelerated training schedule of already knowledgeable ukrainian air defenders, probably two months come inside two months before it's on the ground and operating. but a battery is enough if it is properly integrated into the existing air defence network, to protect 1's city. so it's important capability but it's not enough in terms of a passing but of course that pointed the problem for all of us, certainly when i was the commander of the us army in europe i never anticipated that russia would launch decision weapons and civilian targets. so that means that we are woefully unprepared in europe to protect our own citizens as well as of course critical infrastructure. abs, own citizens as well as of course critical infrastructure.— own citizens as well as of course critical infrastructure. a couple of . uick final critical infrastructure. a couple of quick final question _ critical infrastructure. a couple of quick final question if _ critical infrastructure. a couple of quick final question if i _ critical infrastructure. a couple of quick final question if i may. - quick final question if i may. president putin had his end of year

meeting with defence chiefs yesterday and he talked about new hypersonic and intercontinental missiles being put on duty in the nearfuture. is that missiles being put on duty in the near future. is that a capability for russia, is that rhetoric in your opinion? and how far do you think nato is pushing its boundaries at the moment, which has been a big complaint the russians? first the moment, which has been a big complaint the russians?— complaint the russians? first of all, complaint the russians? first of all. compare _ complaint the russians? first of all, compare the _ complaint the russians? first of all, compare the leaderships - all, compare the leaderships president putin who sits at a long table in his office, with president zelensky, who the before coming to washington was at the scene of the worst fighting happening right now. that sort of inspirational leadership is making the difference. of leadership is making the difference. of course, the russians are developing capabilities but president putin has been bragging about these weapons for long before the resumption of the offensive back in february. so they are looking for everything they can to cause us to be worried, to deter us, because they see how vulnerable we are to

this self deterrence, that fear of russian escalation, and i think that they don't have it yet. is nato pushing the boundaries to far i don't understand anybody that believes that russia attacked ukraine for one reason because they wanted to destroy ukraine's state and destroy the idea of ukraine is a state, they couldn't tolerate the idea ukraine on their border foot of the safest part of ukraine, excuse me, the safest part of russia has always been the part that touched nato, the one area which they were never going to attack and that is still the case.— never going to attack and that is still the case. lieutenant general ben hodges _ still the case. lieutenant general ben hodges talking _ still the case. lieutenant general ben hodges talking to _ still the case. lieutenant general ben hodges talking to annita - ben hodges talking to annita mcveigh. this take a look at what is making the news around the uk. what are thought to be the uk's most premature twins to survive are spending their first christmas

at home in derbyshire. harry and sister harley were born at 22 weeks five days and weighed just over a pound each. 13 months on, they've come a long way, as our health correspondent rob sissons reports. for this family in heanor, christmas is so special this year. meet harry, who's in the green here, and harley, in the red. now these are the most premature twins thought to have survived in the uk. let's chat to jade. jade, a year ago, what were you doing? well, we were in nicu, in nottingham at queen's. that's neonatal intensive care? it is, yes, in the intensive care unit, ventilated and thinking about if we'd ever see this christmas, you know, with them surviving? so it was a completely different yearfor us, wasn't it? it was. and, steve, what are your thoughts about christmas this year?

christmas is about miracles and these are two living examples of miracles. i'm just blessed to be here with them and just enjoying every moment. so how will you be spending it? we're having a messy christmas. we're going to, you know, have a massive christmas dinner and get it all over the floor. that's the idea! i mean, we've seen you in the kitchen chalking up the days. you've come so far. yeah, we, you know, it literally was one day at a time and milestones — get into double figures, getting to 50, getting to 100. so to be over 400 days now and them thriving, it's a lovely way to remind yourself how far we've come every day. yeah. and, jade, they're13—months—old but they are getting into christmas? yeah, they are getting into christmas. they do have a corrected age, which we use for their developmental milestones. but, yeah, they're definitely, they're going to be eating some wrapping paper, shall we say!

they like the lights, they like the sounds, they like the smells. yeah, it's a magicaltime. three teenagers from the kings school in peterborough have organised an event to try to encourage more students from diverse backgrounds to apply to university. it was held at the newly—opened anglia ruskin campus in the city and nadia gyane went along. nathaniel, nathan and tomiwa saw an issue — a lack of students from diverse backgrounds applying to university, and decided to do something about it. we thought it was important that ethnic minorities around peterborough had the opportunity to get into higher education. so, we thought this would be a nice opportunity for people to get a better idea of the application process they need to do, and just give them more of an advantage when applying. so, they invited pupils from different schools across peterborough and got some of their friends and university undergraduates to help run the sessions. when i was in year 12 i think that i would have really appreciated having an event like this,

especially on such a large scale. because when i was in year 12 i was quite conflicted about what i should go into and where i should, you know, choose to study, what i should do, especially my course. i want to get into - medicine or psychology. and have you thought about where or how? i hadn't thought of where yet, but hopefully this evening - should help me with that. that's one of the goals, to help students make more informed decisions. if people came in wanting to go into higher education, i want them to leave going, now i definitely want to go. if people came in saying, i'm not too sure i want them to be like, actually i can actually do this. the main reason for an event like this is because there is still a huge gap between white applicants and those from any other ethnic background. and although those applying to university from minority backgrounds are rising year on year, there is still a long way to go. there is a lot of underrepresentation within people going to uni.

so i think that it's really helpful to seal the opportunities that are available for us. anglia ruskin wanted to help and provided their newly—opened campus to host the event. we need to make sure that people of all backgrounds can access higher education. it makes better engineers, it makes better nurses and doctors. so, having people come from all backgrounds, it makes us a richer environment as a campus — but actually a richer society. they hope the event will be the first of many encouraging people to like them to head into higher education. nadia gyane, bbc look east in peterborough. we're often encouraged to help birds and other wildlife by putting out food or nesting boxes. now conservations are urging us to do the same for bats. experts say six species native to the uk are now at risk of extinction. but there is something we can do to help. london's alice bhandhukravi has been finding out more. meet griff, a rescue bat, rehabilitated and hoping to fly the roost.

for now, he's made his home in this purpose—built bat box, given to him by the bat conservation trust. they look after the interests of these shy, mysterious creatures which are often vilified and who are actually in great danger. in fact, one third of our native bat species are now at risk of extinction. they are incredibly sweet little creatures. i think a lot of people, i'd hazard a guess most people have never even seen a bat. i've never seen a bat. the headline is that they're flying rats, but they're much more beautiful and delicate than that. if you look at their beautiful wings and you look at their incredible faces and then you start to learn how they actually echolocate and how they move around and how they feed, they're obviously nocturnal, so we simply don't see them in this country. so i think there is a great mystery in that. but we can help them by making our own bat boxes, simple dwellings to keep them safe and crucially, in the dark.

a lot of people think a bat box should go into an old, cobwebbed barn and that that's where bats would prefer to live, but actually, you can put a bat box almost anywhere, as long as it is away from high wind, it's away from artificial light and it's away from predators like cats, so it's completely out of reach. if you start looking at the outside space as notjust yours, but a place for flora and fauna, i think we can start reversing this whole decline that so many of our native species are experiencing. some international news at the top of the _ some international news at the top of the hour— some international news at the top

of the hour but— some international news at the top of the hour but now _ some international news at the top of the hour but now time _ some international news at the top of the hour but now time for- some international news at the top of the hour but now time for a - some international news at the top of the hour but now time for a lookj of the hour but now time for a look at the _ of the hour but now time for a look at the weather _ the christmas day focus later, but today has been a bit grey for many, a lot of cloud streaming in from the atlantic bringing most of the rain and drizzle to england and wales. it's moving east so bad that we get into the most places will be dry. temperatures on the higher side in the south but more chilly further north, the cloud more broken with some showers mainly in scotland, there is continued overnight, could turn wintry of the hills. some mist and fog lingering into the night especially where the cloud breaks then as the wind picks up on the south—west summer rain arriving. elsewhere, mild, cold as you had further north and in scotland they could be a touch of frost. given the showers, maybe one or two icy patches. it will be a cloudy day tomorrow in scotland with some showers, called as well. this band of rain before heavy sweeps north across england and wales, then slows down in northern ireland as it arrives during the afternoon. the band of rain followed by centring on

the south—west, won shop showers by the south—west, won shop showers by the end of the day, blustery winds. south of the band of rain it is mild and north of it it is called, temperatures or 5. the band about whether we'll push northwards into the union overnight into the cold air so we will start to see some snow falling. many north of the central belt in scotland and many over the hills, several centimetres likely during christmas eve. you can see the wintry mix move north up towards the far north of scotland, otherwise we will find showers following on behind mainly for western parts of the uk. the east may well be driver sunshine and temperatures here double figures. the wind should pick up through the day on christmas eve, the strongest wind through the irish sea around the coasts and hills. but it's certainly so mild air as we headed to christmas day, the colder air having been pushed away. if you are planning to head out for a walk, perhaps it will be dry across the eastern side of the uk, more likely to have some blustery showers towards the west with the wettest

weather in the far north west. but it's a mild day, temperatures nine celsius in the central belt of scotland and 12 in southern parts of england and wales. after dark we could see some wintry showers in the north—west of scotland. colder air pushes in here and we could see a you are wintry showers on boxing day in the north—west of the uk. the cold air doesn't last long, back to mild conditions by tuesday.

this is bbc news. the headlines: warnings of a "very challenging" day for hospitals after a quieter than normal time during yesterday's ambulance strikes. railfares in england are to rise by nearly 6% from next march — even though ministers have capped the rise at less than inflation. brixton academy has had its licence suspended after a crush at a gig last week which led to the deaths of two people. firms are "banging their heads against the wall" two years after post—brexit trading began — according to a new report by a leading business organisation. we talk to david hockney about his new immersive exhibition.