this is bbc news, i'm geeta guru—murthy, with the headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. plunging temperatures are gripping much of the united states and canada, with more than 250 million people facing life—threating conditions. we have had ice, flooding, snow, freezing temperatures and everything that mother nature could one part of this weekend. uk rail passengers are being warned to avoid travelling unless "absolutely necessary" as further walkouts are set to cause disruption later today. a second day of protests as thousands of people take to the streets of paris after a gunman with a history of racist violence, killed three people at a kurdish cultural centre.

here's the scene in bethlehem where tens of thousands of visitors are expected to gather for the annual christmas procession. and in his first christmas message as monarch, king charles pays tribute to his mother, the late queen elizabeth ii. hello and welcome to bbc news. more than a million homes and businesses in the united states are without power — as an intense winter storm sweeps across the country. temperatures in some areas are predicted to drop to as low as minus 45 celsius. hundreds of thousands of people across the border in canada have also been affected. the rapidly plunging temperatures,

heavy snow and fierce winds have complicated the plans of many people travelling home for the christmas holiday. tom brada reports. once in a generation weather at the worst possible time. ice, wind, rain and extreme cold are wreaking havoc in the build—up to christmas. trees have been ripped from the ground and power lines have been knocked out across the country. from maine to texas, more than one million people are without electricity. it's very frustrating because we pay our bills to encore. all day it has been going in and out. i am really glad i have a fireplace because otherwise i would be freezing right now. this is montana, where it is so cold that boiling water thrown into the air freezes instantly. forecasters warn in some places temperatures could drop to below —50 celsius. most of the attention is on the snow and ice. but america's east coast is facing another threat, flooding.

in new york, rain and strong winds have pushed sea water to shore, leaving cars and homes underwater. we have had ice, flooding, snow, freezing temperatures and everything that mother nature could wallop at us this weekend. travel conditions are treacherous. there have been several fatal road crashes already. and airports are struggling during one of the busiest times of the year. thousands of flights have been cancelled. i am delayed here because of the crazy storm. where i am going, ijust heard it has been flooded. so, it is not the right time for me to get in now. it is not an easy visit. but i am praying. trains are struggling too. american passenger rail company amtrak has suspended more than 20 routes.

experts say the winter weather could develop into a bomb cyclone, a powerful storm which formed so quickly it resembles a bomb going off. millions of americans will now be hoping that the extreme cold won't disrupt their christmas plans. tom brada, bbc news. our north america correspondent, nomia iqbal has more from washington dc. more than half the us population is going into the christmas weekend under severe weather warnings. wrecking holiday plans from coast to coast. the arctic storm is going to plunge temperatures, it already has done, to really dangerous levels across much of the country. several people are dead and more than a million are without power and every travel type that you can think of has been disrupted, planes, trains,

cars. these brutal, icy, windy weather conditions are expected to last right into christmas day. americans have largely had a good run at it when it comes to favourable weather when it comes to holidays, such asjuly favourable weather when it comes to holidays, such as july the favourable weather when it comes to holidays, such asjuly the 4th and thanksgiving. christmas is a different story. people have been warned to rethink their holiday plans, stay indoors and stay safe and prepare for what is expected to be one of the coldest christmas is here in decades. earlier i spoke to our weather presenter nick miller and he talked me through the forecast for the coming days. it is a historic storm at the worst possible time. the overall weather setup isn't that unusual but the severity is something that is really grabbing everybody�*s attention. let me talk about what is going on, this bomb cyclone. this area of low pressure, you can see it circulating with snow and blizzards sitting around it,

snow piling up around the great lakes. this part of canada and the usa closer to that area of deep low pressure is the one being most impacted by the heavy snow, strongest winds and most severe wind chill and just the worst travel conditions. to the west, that temperature in denver, it is going up and that is a sign of things to come. running this forward over the next few days, notice how those temperatures will be heading upwards to warmer colours, a change of air mass. if you take the top location on the screen, that is a place that is just recorded an all—time record low of —42 fahrenheit, —41centigrade. look at where that temperature is heading, above average for the time of year and many locations seeing the coldest weather having the biggest impact with power outages as well and they will also

see that big turnaround is to shoot up again towards the end of the year. there are potentially problems with that quick change, even though it is going back towards normal temperatures. of course, it is hard for people to catch a break because he had been hit by this sudden change to severe winter weather and the arctic air and then it disappears just like that and temperatures head up and that is going to have an impact. thawing so quickly, infrastructure, for what is in some places places an historic chill. a lot of snow has fallen and that will melt so there could be flooding as a result. so make no mistake, in the cold now and coming out of it there are huge problems still to come over the next few days. much more about this story on our website. including details of what a bomb cyclone is — how it forms — and how long it might last. just head to the bbc news website —

or go via the bbc news app. here in the uk, rail passengers have been warned not to travel today unless "absolutely necessary" as continued strike action is set to cause disruption. train services will finish at around 3pm before workers walk out at 6pm. elsewhere, there are ongoing strikes over pay, working conditions and job security — including airport staff at passport control and postal workers. simon browning reports. it's the day before christmas, and all around the country train services are finishing early because of more strikes. rmt members walk out at 6pm. trains won't resume again until the morning of the 27th of december, with a later start than normal. the rail network must be clear before crews leave their posts, meaning many services will end by 3pm, and some of the last services of the day depart in the morning. from here in leeds to london with lner, the last service is at 09:16 in the morning.

the advice from operators is to check before you travel. the dispute between rail bosses and unions about pay, job security and terms and conditions, shows no sign of a breakthrough. yesterday, the rmt union accused ministers of blocking rail employers from making a deal to break the strikes. rail bosses say everyone is suffering. the rmt dispute, and the industrial action and the strikes, are having a really heavy impact, both on passengers, on their own members, who are losing thousands of pounds. and, of course, on on the economy, which is losing millions and millions of pounds every time there's a strike. and it's damaging the railway industry as well. limited trains on christmas eve is a worry for retailers, keen to maximise every penny from last minute high street shoppers. the problem with losing shoppers on such a key trading day like christmas eve, is that you can't really recover that spend. however much you want to, and however long you stay open, shoppers want to buy on christmas eve, and if they can't buy,

they'll buy elsewhere. so some of that will be diverted to other businesses and other destinations elsewhere around the uk. but some of it will be lost for good, and particularly in hospitality, where you have to be in the restaurant, in the cafe, in the bar, to spend that money. and if you're not there, it is never spent. and it's notjust the railways where travellers could struggle today. members of the public and commercial services union, including staff at passport control, begin their second day of walk—outs at six major airports and the port of new haven. the military is covering striking workers. i'm really sad and i'm disappointed about the disruption that is being caused to so many people's lives, particularly at christmas time. when it comes to — it's a difficult question of setting public sector pay. the government has acted fairly and reasonably in accepting all the recommendations of the public sector pay review bodies. next month's strike calendar already includes more from rail workers, nurses and a rescheduled ambulance strike. as christmas arrives,

the friction across the public sector continues to crackle. simon browning, bbc news. our correspondent, anisa kadri is at london paddington. she told me more about the impact of the disruption on travellers. it has been getting busier and busier through the morning here. a lot of people uses station head west of the uk, families on their way to devon and swansea as well as american tourists hoping for an idyllic break in the cotswolds and they said they'd arrived relatively early to try and avoid being caught out by the strike action. the advice today is to only travel if absolutely necessary, try and avoid it if you can is what the official advice is because this strike action is due to start at six o'clock this evening so we are expecting services to wind

down, a lot of final services leaving around 3pm and this afternoon on the strike action is all part of a long—running dispute over pay between railway workers and rail companies and the government. the railway workers feel their wages, that pay offer being proposed to them and keeping up with the rising cost of living. the government says what is being offered is fair and this is against a backdrop of strikes, as you mentioned, in various sectors as the cost of living rises. so we are seeing people striking in the health sector recently, also border force officials striking and postal workers, just to name some other sectors where we have seen these recent strikes. there is expected to be pressure on the roads as a result of this strike today, the railway strike. if the only option left is to drive home for christmas, theirjourney could be

longer than usual. at least 20 people have died in a fire at a russian care home for the elderly in the siberian city of kemerovo. emergency services say another six people were injured. initial reports say it may have been caused by a faulty heating boiler. officials were quoted by tass news agency saying the private home for the elderly was operating illegally, and a criminal inquiry has been launched. thousands of people are taking to the streets of paris, after a gunman with a history of racist violence killed three people at a kurdish cultural centre. a 69—year—old man has been arrested with a possible racist motive being investigated. the protesters are demanding for more protection from the french government for the kurdish community. for the latest, our correspondent hugh schofield. this is a demonstration called by

the kurdish community, the turkish kurdish community of paris, france who feel they were the deliberate targets of this attack yesterday. they may or may not be writing this. from their point of view, they are a community who because of their links with the kurdish opposition have been targeted in the past, they say, by kurdish secret services and they need to be protected. this feeds into their sense of victimhood and the feeling they have been targeted deliberately by this man because they are kurds. there is the authority are more circumspect. they said it was a racist attack, a terrible attack and on the face of it it seems he was motivated, this foreigner by antiforeigner sentiment but not specifically against turkish kurds. he chose a foreign community living in the centre of paris, maybe he knew well because he didn't live that far away and he knew there

would be a concentration of them there in the street. that is the tension. on the one hand, a man who had auntie margaret act of violence, killing three people and this turkish kurdish community, very politicised and linked to the opposition movement, linked to the idea of maybe being attacked themselves by the turkish secret services and so on who have a feeling there is more to this than meets the eye and that is why they are protesting and they are demanding greater protection from the french government.— the french government. there are hue the french government. there are huge questions — the french government. there are huge questions about _ the french government. there are huge questions about this - the french government. there are huge questions about this man - the french government. there are. huge questions about this man who has been arrested, given his past, on there? , ., ~ ., ., on there? yes, there are. again, a searate on there? yes, there are. again, a separate that _ on there? yes, there are. again, a separate that from _ on there? yes, there are. again, a separate that from the _ on there? yes, there are. again, a separate that from the turkish - separate that from the turkish kurdish issue. they are very much motivated by their own sense of persecution and he singled them out on purpose. there is no real evidence of that, what i can see but

there is evidence of this man having a racist past, a violent past. the man who was, you know, convinced he needed to hit back against foreigners living in france and therefore as we know now, a year ago he went to a migrant camp and slashed tents and attacked two migrants there and was put in jail, sent to detention provisionally pending trial. but then had to be released because the whole thing was taking far too long, typical french courts. a year after that arrest, he is released and the law says you cannot stay longer than a year waiting trial. he came out and a few days later commits this other far worse act with a gun. there are questions about why he was allowed out. the answer is, he had to be allowed out. why didn't he come to trial sooner? why wasn't he followed and why was this allowed to happen, known racist release to kill

straightaway. a french serial killer convicted of two murders — and linked to 20 others has returned to france after serving almost two decades behind bars in nepal. charles sobhraj preyed on western tourists travelling on the hippie trail of south asia in the 1970s and 80s. nepal's supreme court ordered the 78—year—old's release earlier this week on the grounds of health. sobhraj�*s crimes were dramatised in the tv series the serpent. his lawyer in france claims he is innocent. translation: he has been wrongfully convicted, - based on a fabricated case file and completely false evidence, provided by the nepalese police. the united nation's human rights committee condemned nepal in 2010 for rigging the trial, and violating all the due process rules. we still had to wait 12 years for him to be released. it is outrageous.

there's mounting evidence of an explosion in covid infections in china, despite official figures that show the opposite. social media posts, and even reports in china's censored news outlets, suggest a surge in cases. unconfirmed news reports claim tens of millions of chinese people could have caught the disease since restrictions were relaxed two weeks ago. after a pause in festivities during the coronavirus pandemic, bethlehem — revered by christians as the birthplace ofjesus, is once again celebrating. thousands are gathering in manger square. our middle east correspondent yolande knell is in manger square in bethlehem. here in manger square i can see there are thousands around us but actually the whole of bethlehem as large crowds because people turn out, line the streets to greet church leaders arriving from jerusalem. they have now passed, coming through the israeli military check—point separate it

from jerusalem next door and then they come through the city alongside stark street which is a traditional route that is believed that mary and joseph passed along here before mary gave birth tojesus, according to the nativity story, and they will be met by local dignitaries. some of them have already gathered in the square and lot of local people, palestinian christians, palestinian muslims out here and also the palestinian scouts that you can hear very loudly. daily dispossession, playing the drums and bagpipes. and this year what has made it extra special, is that for the first time after two years when pilgrims, because a town relies on them for the economy, they couldn't come here because of the covid of dance and now are back and forth.

i met people who delayed their trip because of the pandemic, from parts of europe, north america and parts of africa, alljust delighted to be here and that is very good news for the souvenir sellers, for the falafel shop i went to and also for the hotels which say thatjust as in the nativity story, there is not a room to be had in the city this evening. let's bring you some live pictures now from bethleham. we bring you these images every year on the 24th of december. but there has been that pause caused by the pandemic and it will be interesting to see the number of people gathering. it is a key annual image we see unfolding in bethlehem. there's more to christmas than just giving or receiving presents. volunteering can make a huge difference to people's lives — and it can also be immensely satisfying or the volunteers themselves.

the uk charity crisis at christmas is hosting around a50 homeless people this year, at three centres across london. it offers a lot more than just a place to sleep — with hot food, activities and advice on hand. joining us from one of those centres is matt downie, who's the chief executive at crisis , and volunteerjen kaygan. what are you doing today, how many people have you got at the moment? in this hotel in central london nearly 250 people who have a safe room, three meals a day, have all the help they need to recover from the help they need to recover from the rough sleeping and build a plant out of homelessness in the new year. we have centres across the country providing services to people. on top

of that we have our year—round services as well. it is a really busy time for us trying to help as many people as possible. jen. busy time for us trying to help as many people as possible. jen, you are volunteering, _ many people as possible. jen, you are volunteering, why _ many people as possible. jen, you are volunteering, why did - many people as possible. jen, you are volunteering, why did you - many people as possible. jen, you| are volunteering, why did you want to be there today? this are volunteering, why did you want to be there today?— are volunteering, why did you want to be there today? this is very much become my — to be there today? this is very much become my family _ to be there today? this is very much become my family business, - to be there today? this is very much become my family business, i - to be there today? this is very much become my family business, i have. become my family business, i have been _ become my family business, i have been a _ become my family business, i have been a volunteer for the crisis christmas _ been a volunteer for the crisis christmas for over 20 years. i cannot— christmas for over 20 years. i cannot imagine a more rewarding way to spend _ cannot imagine a more rewarding way to spend it_ cannot imagine a more rewarding way to spend it here in this environment.- to spend it here in this environment. ~ ., ., , environment. who are the people you are talkin: environment. who are the people you are talking to. — environment. who are the people you are talking to, why _ environment. who are the people you are talking to, why do _ environment. who are the people you are talking to, why do they _ environment. who are the people you are talking to, why do they find - are talking to, why do they find themselves in that position? i learnt very early on it is important not to— learnt very early on it is important not to make — learnt very early on it is important not to make assumptions. our guests have a _ not to make assumptions. our guests have a whole range of histories. it is a very— have a whole range of histories. it is a very short distance from a settled — is a very short distance from a settled family life to a life on the streets — settled family life to a life on the streets. and every story is different. some people are struggling with mental health

problems. we know mental health provisions— problems. we know mental health provisions are inundated, there isn't _ provisions are inundated, there isn't the — provisions are inundated, there isn't the services out there for people — isn't the services out there for people with mental health problems. inevitably, a lot of people help failing — inevitably, a lot of people help falling between the cracks when they have mental health problems. there are people _ have mental health problems. there are people struggling because of simple _ are people struggling because of simple financial pressures of life and the — simple financial pressures of life and the fact of the cost of living has always been problematic. quite a big percentage _ has always been problematic. quite a big percentage of— has always been problematic. quite a big percentage of people _ has always been problematic. quite a big percentage of people after - has always been problematic. quite a big percentage of people after covidl big percentage of people after covid there was a big effort in the uk and in other parts of the world, to get people off the streets for their own safety and a lot of people didn't go back to being homeless after that, so what are you expecting this year? what we learnt during the pandemic is that instead of expecting people to go through forms of temporary accommodation where they have to share living spaces with other people. the quicker you can get

people into self—contained forms of accommodation, like these hotels, the quicker they exit from homelessness. amazing things were provided during the pandemic, because it was seen as a national emergency to have people sleeping rough. but it is a national emergency the whole year round and we should see rough sleeping is something that is entirely solvable. if he can prove this over a short period of time, like the pandemic and like over christmas where 75% of people who came to us last year left rough sleeping behind. we can do this, we need to see this as a political priority and organise across local government, charities and national government and get this sorted. ., . ., i. and national government and get this sorted. ., . ., ,, ~' sorted. how much do you think it would cost _ sorted. how much do you think it would cost to _ sorted. how much do you think it would cost to get _ sorted. how much do you think it would cost to get all— sorted. how much do you think it would cost to get all rough - sorted. how much do you think it i would cost to get all rough sleepers of the street across the country? it will cost a lot less to provide temporary accommodation. hundreds of millions of pounds are spent keeping people in hostels and night shelters and temporary accommodation, where

we know the answer is to get people into a home of their own as soon as possible. into a home of their own as soon as ossible. ,, w' , into a home of their own as soon as ossible. ,, . ~ , ., into a home of their own as soon as ossible. ,, w , ., ., i. possible. quickly, what do you get out of it, possible. quickly, what do you get out of it. of— possible. quickly, what do you get out of it, of being _ possible. quickly, what do you get out of it, of being there _ possible. quickly, what do you get out of it, of being there yourself. out of it, of being there yourself today? it out of it, of being there yourself toda ? . out of it, of being there yourself toda ? , , ., today? it renews my faith in humanity — today? it renews my faith in humanity any _ today? it renews my faith in humanity any day. - today? it renews my faith in humanity any day. the - today? it renews my faith in i humanity any day. the attitude today? it renews my faith in - humanity any day. the attitude of the guests— humanity any day. the attitude of the guests and fellow volunteers. we have very _ the guests and fellow volunteers. we have very ordinary conversations with people from such a wide variety of lives. _ with people from such a wide variety of lives, both volunteers and guests _ of lives, both volunteers and guests it _ of lives, both volunteers and guests. it is an opportunity to provide — guests. it is an opportunity to provide experience of life. we will leave it there, _ provide experience of life. we will leave it there, thank _ provide experience of life. we will leave it there, thank you - provide experience of life. we will leave it there, thank you both - provide experience of life. we will| leave it there, thank you both very much. hope everyone has a good christmas. king charles will deliver his first christmas address as monarch tomorrow, in a speech which is expected to pay tribute to the legacy of his mother, queen elizabeth. a picture has been released showing the king as he recorded this year's message in the chapel where a committal service

was held during the queen's funeral in september. hello, it is going to be a very mild christmas. later in the day tomorrow on christmas day in the highlands, we could have some snow. it could be a white christmas for some of us. this is the satellite picture and the weather system is streaming in from the south—west. that is a very mild direction, the air is coming and almost from the subtropics, so sub tropical maritime air over is right now. yesterday it was around 14 right now. yesterday it was around ia degrees in the south—east and another very mild day to come today. the forecast for the afternoon, for christmas eve, a lot of fine weather across the bulk of england, wales,

eastern scotland but in the afternoon we are expecting showers to spread in off the atlantic and some of them could be quite heavy. around six in lerwick and i2 some of them could be quite heavy. around six in lerwick and 12 in london. this is the forecast for this evening and overnight... low pressure close by and all of the front circling the uk, it will hit and miss, heavy showers and clear spells here and there aren't a very mild end to the night and start to christmas day. 9 degrees on the south coast of england, 6 degrees in stornoway. that is the air of low pressure with the weather fronts close by, hit and miss weather to come on sunday. sunshine in the forecast but be prepared for a few showers. there could be some persistent rain for a time in the morning and into the afternoon. roughly from the isle of wight through london and into east anglia here, possibly better times. elsewhere it is the mixed bag of sunny spells and showers on christmas day and very mild, ii christmas day and very mild, 11 degrees in the south. the showers in

scotland, in the evening the wind will switch direction and christmas day evening some of the snow will settle across the highlands. the temperatures into boxing day, close to freezing. we will see some snow lying on the ground. that is mostly in the hills, blustery, boxing day, at least temporarily in scotland, temperatures four or 5 degrees. milder in central england, around six and on the south coast. after the brief cold spell it will turn mild once again and you can see the run—up to the new year is looking unsettled with gale force winds and rain times. goodbye.

this is bbc world news, the headlines: plunging temperatures are gripping much of the united states and canada, with more than two hundred and fifty million people facing life—threating conditions. uk rail passengers are being warned to avoid travelling unless "absolutely necessary" as further walkouts are set to cause disruption later today. a second day of protests as thousands of people take to the streets of paris after a gunman with a history of racist violence, killed three people at a kurdish cultural centre. tens of thousands of visitors are gathering in bethlehem for the annual christmas procession in manger square, ahead of midnight mass at the nativity church. and in his first christmas message as monarch, king charles is to pay tribute to his mother, the late queen elizabeth ii.