this is bbc news broadcasting in the uk, on pbs in america, and around the globe. i'm frankie mccamley and these are the latest headlines... the us braces for its coldest christmas in four decades as a major storm sweeps across the country, with temperatures plummeting to minus 45 degrees celsius in some places. misery awaits passengers arriving at britain's busiest airports — with warnings of delays at passport control as border force officials begin an eight day strike over pay and pensions. arrests continue in afghanistan as protests persist against the new ban by the taliban on women and girls attending universities. and...displaced ukrainians in the uk describe how they'll mark their first christmas away

from loved ones as the war continues in their home country. hello and welcome to bbc news. a fierce arctic winter storm has triggered emergency alerts across parts of the united states and forced the cancellation of more than 2000 flights. forecasters say the cold snap could bring the coldest christmas in decades. presidentjoe biden has encouraged everyone to heed warnings and bring forward christmas travel plans where possible. this is what it looks like when a bomb cyclone descends on north america. these huge banks of snow in north dakota are the result of an intense blizzard that

swept through the state. conditions that are set to engulf almost the entire country, just in time for christmas. but this is no winter wonderland. the storm could prove deadly. great swathes of the us will experience some of the lowest temperatures ever recorded here. there is already chaos at the airports. this is new york. for many, it should have been the first normal christmas after covid. but across the country, thousands of flights have been cancelled. some people have been forced to abandon their plans to travel, while others are scrambling to find another way to get to theirfamilies. flustered. we're trying to search on our phones, figure out other routes, maybe even taking a bus from here to atlanta, which it'll take us about 21 hours, so that's really inconvenient, but anything we can do just to get there, it's what we're going to do. president biden has urged people

to take extreme care. this is really a very serious weather alert here. it goes from oklahoma all the way to wyoming, and wyoming to maine, and it's of real consequence, so i encourage everyone, everyone, please heed the local warnings. the rapidly deepening low pressure system will bring snow, strong winds, ice and frigid conditions all the way from canada to the deep south, including texas and the border with mexico. the midwest will be particularly badly hit, where it could be the coldest christmas since the 1980s. even florida, the sunshine state, will experience temperatures well below freezing. in new york, intense blizzards are expected to last for several days. americans are being advised to travel earlier than planned, or hunker down for christmas. peter bowes, bbc news.

we will be speaking to our correspondent and a guest in the united states later in the programme. passengers using some of the uk's busiest airports are being told to expect delays at passport control as border force staff begin eight days of strike action. around 1,000 staff at six airports, including heathrow and gatwick — and the port of newhaven — are taking industrial action as part of a row about pay, pensions and job security. here's more from our employment correspondent, zoe conway. hello, madam, are you all right? where have you flown in from today? border force officers have the job of keeping the country safe while also being as welcoming as possible. there you go. thank you. have a good day. but for the next few days, most of them won't be staffing these desks. the public and commercial services union says 75% of officers are going on strike. theirjobs will be filled by members of the armed forces and home office volunteers.

industrial action is a last resort, a last resort because the government is treating our members worse than anybody else in the economy, giving them a 2% pay rise. the effects of the industrial action are most likely to be felt in the international arrivals halls at heathrow, gatwick, glasgow, manchester, birmingham and cardiff airports. there are fears of lengthy queues, although border force managers are hopeful no airports will have to close. flying into heathrow from costa rica on a strike day later this month is jasmine 0'donoghue. she's been told she can change her flight, but she can't get through to her airline. i am feeling anxious just around the uncertainty of it. i think if i knew that i could change my flight or if i knew i had to go on the same flight, i wouldn't feel as worried because i would have a plan. but right now i don't know

whether i am getting on the flight on the 27th or if i will change my flight. while arriving might not be as welcoming as normal, airlines and airports have been keen to downplay the idea of travel chaos. flights are not being cancelled. the government says passengers should be prepared for disruption and it's advising them to check with operators before travelling. zoe conway, bbc news. the bbc�*s hannah miller's at london gatwick airport. how are things looking where you are? it looks like people are coming through international arrivals at the moment. through international arrivals at the moment-— through international arrivals at the moment. , , , , the moment. yes, this is the first test here at _ the moment. yes, this is the first test here at gatwick _ the moment. yes, this is the first test here at gatwick airport - the moment. yes, this is the first test here at gatwick airport this l test here at gatwick airport this morning. things so far appear to have been running smoothly. there is a steady flow of passengers who have been coming through the arrival gates and everyone we have spoken to has said that their experience has

been relatively normal. but they are seeing military personnel at the passport control rather than the usual border force officials. but so far, the contingency plans appear to be working. 0ne far, the contingency plans appear to be working. one person also said to me that they were using the e gates, those gates where you just scan your passport and don't have to speak to anyone. there is, of course, don't go on strike, the passenger said. the airport is hoping that people using the e—gates and the military personnel will limit the impact here. we are also hearing from heathrow airport this morning, which is expected to see the worst of this strike that things are going relatively smoothly. the boss of gatwick airport said that in the worst case, there could be queues at passport control of up to two hours, but that is not the case at the moment. but that is not the case at the moment-— moment. are you feeling any frustration _ moment. are you feeling any frustration from _ moment. are you feeling anyj frustration from passengers? moment. are you feeling any - frustration from passengers? we have

had so many strikes around the country. these are people who are arriving. is there a sense when they are arriving that it is not as welcoming as it could be when we have got strikes happening on our borders? i have got strikes happening on our borders? ~ , , .,, ., , borders? i think most people at this oint of borders? i think most people at this point of the — borders? i think most people at this point of the morning _ borders? i think most people at this point of the morning are _ borders? i think most people at this point of the morning are just - borders? i think most people at this point of the morning are just glad i point of the morning are just glad to have got off the plane and be able to get out of the airport smoothly although, as you say, a lot of them will be impacted in the coming days as they try to get around the country, particularly by the ongoing rail strikes. that, for some passengers, is a cause of further disruption and delays. but we were in the departures hall earlier this morning, and while many people have got their christmas jumpers on and they are heading off on their holidays away from the uk for christmas, there is a worry about what happens before the new year with regard to the strike as people come back into the uk. they

are heading off on their holidays quite happy at the moment, but a bit concerned about how smooth their arrival will be when they get back before the new year.— before the new year. thank you, hannah miller _ before the new year. thank you, hannah miller at _ before the new year. thank you, hannah miller at gatwick- before the new year. thank you, | hannah miller at gatwick airport. the royal college of nursing is expected to announce new strike dates in england which will take place in mid—january. the rcn says its decision follows ten days of no negotiations between the union and government about pay, despite two days of strike action earlier this month. royal mail staff who are part of the communications workers' union are back on the picket line again today and tomorrow. it's have an ongoing dispute about pay and job conditions, but as many of the strikes have taken place in the run—up to the festive period, businesses relying on christmas sales say they have suffered as a result. it seems we don't have emma simpson's package, but we will bring

you that later. health officials in the uk are warning people with flu symptoms to stay at home this christmas, to avoid passing illnesses on to elderly people. the uk health security agency says anyone with a cough or a cold should also wear a mask in enclosed spaces, such as on trains or in supermarkets, to stop infections spreading over the festive period. in afghanistan, security forces have arrested several people as protests continue against the ban by the taliban on women attending universities. social media is awash with videos showing women protesting in kabul. the taliban have stopped the protest and arrested at least five women. joining us now is sahar baloch to tell us more. what is happening?— baloch to tell us more. what is haueninu? ., , , . ., happening? the latest is that women who went on — happening? the latest is that women who went on to _ happening? the latest is that women who went on to the _ happening? the latest is that women who went on to the street _ happening? the latest is that women who went on to the street yesterday | who went on to the street yesterday were arrested. some have told us the

taliban used force against them. some were beaten. but we were told others were released. the taliban of course deny that they have used force, but this morning we heard from the minister in charge of higher education, who issued this ban on universities. the interview was given to state tv, which is controlled by the taliban. when the announcement was made, there was no official reasoning for why the taliban decided to ban universities for women. taliban decided to ban universities forwomen. but taliban decided to ban universities for women. but in this interview, the minister in charge says that proposed reforms were not implemented by the university, so that was why they made that decision. but he goes on to say that in his view, there were four other reasons why they made that decision. 0ne reasons why they made that decision. one was that the curriculum is not compatible with what the taliban want. he says there were 160 feels that women could choose from. but according to him, some of those fields are not suitable for women.

the examples are engineering and agriculture. the second reason, he says, was that classes were not gender segregated enough, which is what the taliban have always demanded. thirdly, women were not complying with the taliban dress code, the head to toe black garment. fourthly, women were staying at hostels. and he goes on to say the mixing of the genders usually leads to moral corruption and for those reasons, they needed to make that decision. this is typical of what the taliban have always said with regard to women. gender segregation was always seen as a problem by them, but they already issued directives to universities that they needed to separate the days so that they were allocated days for female students and other days for male students. so women are saying that

is a logical reasoning that they are giving, but we haven't yet officially heard from the men higher “p officially heard from the men higher up as to why they are making this decision. another interesting development is that over 60 male faculty members across the country have resigned from their posts in protest and in solidarity with women in protest against the band by the taliban on female students. thank ou, we taliban on female students. thank you. we will— taliban on female students. thank you. we will be — taliban on female students. thank you, we will be watching _ taliban on female students. thank you, we will be watching is - taliban on female students. thank you, we will be watching is that. you, we will be watching is that story develops. more now on the fierce arctic winter storm which has triggered emergency alerts across large parts of the us and forced the cancellation of more than 2000 flights. forecasters say the cold snap could bring the coldest christmas in decades. let's go now to laguardia airport in new york and our cbs correspondent jarred hill is there. what is happening, are you seeing lots of cancellations? hat

seeing lots of cancellations? not necessarily _ seeing lots of cancellations? iirrt necessarily here, but that is something that has been happening across the country. as big as the country is that it is impacting almost every community differently, but one factor is the fact that during the christmas weekend, a lot of people are trying to travel and a lot of them are getting caught in similar snags. find lot of them are getting caught in similar snags-— lot of them are getting caught in similar snags. and we are seeing this weather _ similar snags. and we are seeing this weather snap _ similar snags. and we are seeing this weather snap coming - similar snags. and we are seeing | this weather snap coming through similar snags. and we are seeing - this weather snap coming through and we are hearing from the us president isn't saying how dangerous it can be. do you feel that people are prepared? it be. do you feel that people are prepared?— be. do you feel that people are --reared? , , ., prepared? it depends where you are. one of the plus _ prepared? it depends where you are. one of the plus sides _ prepared? it depends where you are. one of the plus sides is _ prepared? it depends where you are. one of the plus sides is that - prepared? it depends where you are. one of the plus sides is that a - prepared? it depends where you are. one of the plus sides is that a lot - one of the plus sides is that a lot of these communities have known about this for a couple of days and we have seen places where they are starting to salt the roads or treat the roads to make sure they are not as slippery as they could be. and we

have seen a lot of places, especially in the south, which are not used to such temperatures, developing warming shelters for anyone who may lose power or doesn't have a home. we have seen some preparation here, but the real test will be over the next couple of days to see how those systems hold up. texas ended up losing power in some areas on the coldest day of the season. they are promising not to have a repeat of previous years, where a cold snap really hit the power grid in a way that was crippling and incredibly dangerous. we have seen some locations promising they will do a betterjob than they might have done in the past. white and that was jarred hill in laguardia airport. in kansas, there have been flights

grounded and power outages. well, for more on that extreme weather, let's talk to kansas highway patrol 0fficer benjamin gardner. what is it like where you are? it's extremely — what is it like where you are? it�*s extremely cold. right now, we have -5 extremely cold. right now, we have —5just extremely cold. right now, we have —5 just sitting still, extremely cold. right now, we have —5just sitting still, but extremely cold. right now, we have —5 just sitting still, but when extremely cold. right now, we have —5just sitting still, but when the wind is blowing across, it brings those temperatures to an extremely low condition for anyone who might find themselves outside. and low condition for anyone who might find themselves outside.— find themselves outside. and for emergency _ find themselves outside. and for emergency services, _ find themselves outside. and for emergency services, you - find themselves outside. and for emergency services, you have i find themselves outside. and for- emergency services, you have serious weather coming in. do you feel like you and other emergency services are prepared? i you and other emergency services are --reared? .., you and other emergency services are “reared? .. . ., , you and other emergency services are “reared? . ., , ,, you and other emergency services are “reared? . ., ., prepared? i can certainly speak for my agency. _ prepared? i can certainly speak for my agency. the — prepared? i can certainly speak for my agency, the kansas _ prepared? i can certainly speak for my agency, the kansas highway i my agency, the kansas highway patrol. we have troopers that are patrolling all over kansas to make sure we are finding motorists that are in distress. with these extreme temperatures, vehicles are not

working as well as they should, so we are checking a lot of motorists. we are finding as individuals, checking on them, trying to find mechanical help or removing them from those vehicles and getting them somewhere warm so they don't freeze inside the vehicle. and somewhere warm so they don't freeze inside the vehicle.— inside the vehicle. and if people are concerned _ inside the vehicle. and if people are concerned and _ inside the vehicle. and if people are concerned and they - inside the vehicle. and if people are concerned and they are - inside the vehicle. and if people are concerned and they are sat i inside the vehicle. and if people l are concerned and they are sat at home thinking, i am not sure what to do, have you been speaking to any community centres where people can get warm and hunkered down together? there are places and outlets all across our state, certainly across kansas. for resources, there are local mayors and governors providing resources for people who are in distress. there are resources available. we come together as humans to make sure we can help each

other and find those people in distress. �* ., , distress. ben gardner, a trooper in kansas city- _ distress. ben gardner, a trooper in kansas city. more _ distress. ben gardner, a trooper in kansas city. more now _ distress. ben gardner, a trooper in kansas city. more now on - distress. ben gardner, a trooper in i kansas city. more now on passengers using some of the uk's busiest airports being told to expect delays at passport control is but a full staff begin eight days of strike action. around 1000 staff at six airports including heathrow and gatwick and the port of new haven are taking industrial action as part of a row about pay, pensions and obscurity. ——job —— job security. let's speak now to mark serwotka — he's general secretary of the pcs union which represents border force staff striking today. how are torques going? there are no talks auoin how are torques going? there are no talks going on. _ how are torques going? there are no talks going on, which _ how are torques going? there are no talks going on, which is _ talks going on, which is disappointing and an abdication of the government has made responsibility. the border force staff are civil servants. they are part of our union were 100,000 civil

servants voted by a record majority to go on strike. they are being offered a 2% pay rise even though they know it is the lowest in the economy and many of them are using food banks and claiming benefits. but the government, for six months, hasjust said there but the government, for six months, has just said there is no but the government, for six months, hasjust said there is no money, it is 2% and we are going to cut thousands ofjobs and slash your redundancy terms by 30%. it's a massive attack on people who were clapped by this government in the pandemic for delivering the furlough scheme, keeping ourjustice system running on our transport and borders open. so it's a terrible thing the government is doing to its own workforce and the strike is a last resort. unfortunately, it is likely to escalate injanuary if the government refused to talk. it government refused to talk. it sounds like you have a long way to 90, sounds like you have a long way to go, many more hours around the

table. what if you don't get what you are calling for by the new year? are we going to expect more strikes into 2023? , , , into 2023? firstly, i wish there would be hours _ into 2023? firstly, i wish there would be hours of _ into 2023? firstly, i wish there would be hours of talks, - into 2023? firstly, i wish there would be hours of talks, but i into 2023? firstly, | wish there i would be hours of talks, but there aren't any at the moment because the government says it won't put a penny on the table. most of your viewers will be astonished that whilst most people in the economy are supposedly getting 6% or 7% pay rises, the government are giving its own workforce 2%. so the action will escalate in january. workforce 2%. so the action will escalate injanuary. at the moment, we have seen two weeks of action. driving examiners and people on the highways have been on strike. people in the rural payments agency have been out for two weeks and we have some people injob sentence on strike because they are facing redundancy in yorkshire and liverpool. so if the government remain of this view, we will see this escalate injanuary. that could mean people who issue passports, driving licences, ports such as

dover, the home office, the entire job centre network and all parts of government. additionally, we know that half a million teachers are balloting for strike action, and firefighters as well as the existing disputes we have on rail and then universities etc. so my question to the government is, where are you? you are not engaging. you are letting this crisis unfold. you must get around the negotiating table. you need to put money on the table or we will see a lot worse in january. or we will see a lot worse in january-— or we will see a lot worse in janua . ., . , ., january. there are concerns that if there are lots _ january. there are concerns that if there are lots of _ january. there are concerns that if there are lots of parties _ january. there are concerns that if there are lots of parties on - january. there are concerns that if there are lots of parties on strike l there are lots of parties on strike at the moment, and it does feel like the winter of strikes, but there are concerns that constantly awarding pay rises could keep inflation high. i don't think any serious economist has those concerns. the government keep parroting this line, but they know it is not pay that causes inflation, it is corporate greed and

the government's own incompetence in mismanaging our economy. if you give a public sector worker, whether that is a nurse, border staff or a job centre worker a pay rise, those people will spend that money in our economy. they will spend it in our communities, supporting manufacturing and hospitality locally. and when a recession is coming, people having money to spend and tax and national insurance regenerates the economy. by keeping people poor, it stifles demand. the recession will grow and the people who are suffering are currently people like our members, who are using food banks and claiming benefits because they are poorer at the end of the year than they were at the start through no fault of their own, even though they have worked harder than ever.- their own, even though they have worked harder than ever. thank you for “oininr worked harder than ever. thank you forjoining us. _ worked harder than ever. thank you forjoining us, mark— worked harder than ever. thank you forjoining us, mark serwotka. - for many people displaced by the war in ukraine, this will be the first christmas away

from loved ones. jo black has been speaking with ukrainians who moved to cambridgeshire earlier this year about how they will be marking this festive period especially when their relatives are facing the conflict back at home. carol singing in ukrainian. it is the time of year when many of us are with those we love most. but for ukrainians escaping the war and living here in the uk, christmas and new year is likely to feel very different this year. bogdana came to cambridgeshire with her young daughter in april, leaving her husband behind in kyiv. now a resettlement officer for the local council, she helps to run this community hub for ukrainian people. today's get together is marking christmas with a 12 course lunch of traditional ukrainian food. the mood is festive, but there is also a deep sense of sadness.

we don't feel much like christmas and not much like christmas tree or anything. but anyway, we put on lights because we want the kids not to miss this feeling. war or no war, life goes on. so we'll have a small celebration. antonina, an artist from irpin, tells us shelling has destroyed her family home. she says this christmas will be a painful one. translation: i cannot feel festive at the moment because i worry very much about my friends and my family who are left and who cannot leave ukraine at the moment. and they are staying there and enduring what they have to endure. svetlana, a neurologist from zaporizhzhia, is here with her three children and her mother. she says this christmas is made more bearable because of people like her host, les. translation: he's notjust giving us accommodation. i he's open his heart to us and open his home to us. and really, he's like a grandfather to our children. taking them to the park, helping them with school, helping with english lessons.

and i can't be more grateful to les and to all other people who open their hearts and homes for us, because this christmas, maybe have no christmas this year, if not for these people. my aim is really to try and make it as normal as it possibly can be. i so we're going to have everybody at home on christmas day, - 17 people around the table. so that would be very nice, i think. at this special time of year, these families are putting on a brave face. they are glad they are safe, but also hopeful that they'll soon be reunited with the people they love. jo black, bbc news, ely. that is it from me for now. plenty more on all of our stories on the bbc news website. you can also contact me on twitter. have a lovely day. bye—bye.

good morning. today we have had a band of rain which has been steadily pushing northwards. it's heavy and persistent and as it engages with the cold air across northern england, we will have some transient snow across the lakes and pennines. behind this band of rain, we see a return to sunshine and showers. ahead of it, the cloud will build but for much of scotland, we are looking at a dry day with a few showers, of those wintry across the far north of scotland. and it is going to be windier than it has been of late. 0vernight, this band of rain, sleet and snow will push steadily northwards. it could lead to disruption over the higher routes across northern scotland. behind it

and the clearer skies, it is not going to be particularly cold. the mild air is continuing tojourney northwards as we head through the night and tomorrow. and the weatherfront will continue to push northwards. tomorrow, christmas eve for most of us will be dry with sunshine. there will be a few showers towards the west, but it will also be windy. and the milder air continues to migrate north.

this is bbc news. i'm frankie mccamley and these are the latest headlines... the us braces for its coldest christmas in four decades as a major storm sweeps across the country with temperatures plummeting to minus 45 degrees celsius in some places. at least 1,500 flights have already been cancelled with more expected to follow. misery awaits passengers arriving at britain's busiest airports — with warnings of delays at passport control as border force officials begin an eight day strike over pay and pensions. soldiers and civil servant volunteers have been trained to conduct checks to try to minimise disruption. arrests continue in afghanistan as protests persist against the new ban by the taliban on women and girls attending universities.