the headlines: engineers are scrambling to restore power supplies to hundreds of thousands of people as a winter storm affects large parts of the united states and canada. the severe weather forced the cancellation of thousands of flights and kept some of the busiest roads closed. the un has criticised a taliban ruling that bars afghan women from working for aid agencies, saying it violates their most fundamental rights. last week the hardline rulers announced women were banned from attending university. ten civilians have been killed by russian shelling in the ukrainian city of kherson. one attack on saturday morning struck the central market as people were shopping,

before mortar fire targeted other areas. russia has frequently shelled kherson, which was recaptured by ukrainian forces last month. this is bbc news. there was an early end to christmas eve rail services across the uk, after workers from the rmt union walked out at six o'clock on friday night. their strike will continue until the early hours of tuesday morning. noor nanji reports. dashing home for christmas. this train to swansea was one of the last to leave london today. allaround britain, rail services have finished early because of more strikes. for passengers here, it was a race against time. it's the last train so it's kind of a bit nerve—racking, yeah, but either way, i do support the people who are striking. so i do understand what they are going through. it's just frustrating that,

like, it has to have an impact on christmas and going home to see family and stuff. this station would usually be packed on a saturday evening, but here on the platform, you can hear a pin drop. services started winding down from around lunchtime. the last train left at about lipm, and they won't be back up and running until tuesday morning. around the country, it was a similar picture, with many people forced to change their plans. yesterday, we went to the station in york, and i don't think they were on strike yesterday, but all the trains were cancelled. then we ended up paying £65 in a taxi to get here. we booked our 3pm train and it was cancelled so we are now booked for 9:45. and this is the last train? this is the last train, and we are still worried it will get cancelled. the walk—outs are part of a long—running dispute between rail bosses and unions about pay, conditions and job security. the rmt union has accused the government of blocking rail employers from making a deal. the department for transport rejected that, saying it

has facilitated talks. network rail says it's offered a fair deal and urged the union to think again. christmas eve is also a big day for restaurants, cafes and bars, as well as for last—minute shopping. 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, however long you stay open, shoppers want to buy on christmas eve, and if they can't, they'll buy elsewhere. with many people avoiding the railways, some people have opted to drive home for christmas instead. we are seeing a lot of congestion over this period and that's because people don't want to use the rail. they are just not sure what sort of service they're going to get. we are expecting today to be particularly busy. yesterday, we did over 13,500 jobs, which is more than our usual daily average. with roads busier than usual, the advice to motorists is to check before they travel. noor nanji, bbc news, in paddington. now on bbc news — our world,

eurovision: ukraine's victory. music plays this is kalush orchestra, winners of this year's eurovision song contest. but they are no ordinary band. they are from ukraine, a country in the midst of a bloody war. in the lead—up to the contest, all the band members faced a difficult decision. now, their winning song has become a powerful statement of defiance.

and they hope their global stardom will help ukraine's plight. i am viktoriia zhuhan. i work as a journalist for bbc in ukraine. i don't normally cover eurovision, especially when there is a war raging in my country, but kalush orchestra isn't an ordinary, typical eurovision contestant. but after following the kalush orchestra for ten days, i've learned that for them this is much more than a singing competition. it's a way to tell the world about the war that's destroying ukraine.

we are on our way to a rehearsal in the north of the country. oleh, in the pink hat, the group's frontman, finds it hard to take in what he sees. it's tymo, the band's vocalist and flute player, who realises he has been here before.

only weeks earlier, russian troops were pushed back after a barbaric onslaught. they left mass graves and even evidence of torture. vladimir putin, the president of russia, has started the largest war in europe since world war ii. non—stop shelling and a ground invasion has devastated the nation. over 14 million people have fled their homes. and tens of thousands

have been left dead. with only four weeks ago before the competition, today the 6—member band are filming a music video. chosen filming location, the city of irpin. they have employed actors, but the wreckage that surrounds us is far from fiction. music plays.

the band is named after the small town of kalush in western ukraine, where oleh, the lead singer, grew up.

since the start of the war, men of working age have been forced to stay behind to help fight.

but the war has also divided the band. not every member has made the same decision. 25—year—old svyatoslav was previously the band's most famous tiktok star. today, he is deployed to the frontline.

it's the orthodox easter weekend back in kalush, an important time in ukraine when families gather together. oleh is keen to visit his mother before he heads to italy for eurovision. it's also his first time home since the war began. oleh's mum, stefania, was the inspiration for the song the band

is playing at the contest. the song has taken on a whole new meaning — a war cry for the motherland. # stefania, mama,

mama, stefania... soldiers on the frontline have been recording their own versions. stefania plays. before we left kalush, oleh took me to the easter service. even the local priest gave his support. oleh's roots are the key to understanding the lyrics of the song. but it is tymo's connection with ukrainian folk music that inspired the two. —— inspired the tune.

tymo and his mum svitlana show me their family heirlooms. traditional clothes like these have been part of ukraine's identity for hundreds of years.

rap music plays. it is something the russian invasion has been trying to wipe out and something the band say they want to protect. with his brother already serving in the military, tymo admits he felt the pressure too.

the time has come for the band to leave ukraine for the eurovision song contest. there is a no—fly zone across the country, so it's an uncomfortable three—day journey by road via poland to get to turin. kalush orchestra required special permission from the government to take part in eurovision. dodomu (featuring skofka) plays. the band's arrival is met with huge media attention. everybody asks them the same question. what will it mean to ukraine if you win?

journalists from all over the world want to talk to them. hi, billboard! this... hi, billboard. i'm oleh from kalush orchestra and these are my... this is my... these are my answers for your five questions. da? yes! it feels like no eurovision band from ukraine has ever been under so much pressure as this one. it's notjust about eurovision — it's the pressure about representing ukraine to the whole world as the war is going on and telling ukraine and its story during this one and unique chance. all: let the eurovision i song contest 2022 begin!

cheering and applause. this is the night of the grand final, where we make eurovision history! tonight, the sound of beauty triumphs in torino. - 25 countries are competing i for the grand final and you — yes, you — have the power to decide who will be - the winner of eurovision 2022. make a note of the codes that correspond to your favourite l songs because soon, we will open the telephone lines. i ukraine is the bookies�* favourite but sweden, the uk and spain also have hit songs. # space man. # oh, yeah! it's time for ukraine's kalush orchestra to perform to 200 million people worldwide. # stefania, mama, mama, stefania... sings in ukranian.

raps in ukrainian. slava, their old band member, is back from the frontline and is watching. across the world, millions of ukrainians watch in support. sings in ukranian. # stefania, mama, mama, stefania. sings in ukranian. cheering and applause.

with the eyes of every ukrainian on him, oleh uses the world stage as an opportunity to protest. cheering and applause. i ask all of you, please help ukraine, mariupol. help azovstal right now! cheering and applause continues. the votes start to come in. we've heard all 25 of tonight's finalists. each and every one of them has lit up this beautiful arena. and ukraine, the public has given you... ..439 points. cheering and applause. we now... a new leader! yes! ..have a new leader with 631 points. who will be the winner of the eurovision song contest 2022?

it's between ukrainel and united kingdom. the tension is killing me... yeah, i see, i see. ..in every way. for ukraine to win, the uk needs to receive less than 310 points. from the public, the united kingdom has received... ..183 points. cheering and applause. so, we have a winner! all: the winner of the | eurovision song contest 2022 is ukraine! music swells. how fantastic! ukraine is the winner- of the eurovision song contest 2022!

congratulations, ukraine! what an evening! what a result! ukraine is the winner. all this noise is for you right now. so happy for you. you're all here, so, i hand you the trophy. lift it up. you deserve it. and if you want to say something, this is the moment. thank you so much. thank you for supporting ukraine. this victory is for every ukrainian. slava ukraini! cheering and applause. slava is back from the frontline. i took the chance to catch up with him.

with mission accomplished, kalush orchestra makes thejourney home. just two months ago, this border crossing with poland was a place where hundreds and thousands of ukrainian refugees came to flee from war. but the mood here today is one of celebration. even the guards come bearing gifts and want their photos with the european winners. uplifting music plays. cheering and applause. the band have come up with an ingenious way to directly help the war effort.

russia's invasion has changed our country and the world but kalush orchestra has given all ukrainians a reason to sing in spite of their pain, and a voice at their most vulnerable. stefania plays.

good morning. the countdown is over — it is now christmas day — and a popular weather question for christmas day is, of course, will it be a white christmas? starting us off today, you'd be forgiven for thinking "no chance!"

we're in some fairly mild air, really, top to tail across the uk, which is being pulled in from the atlantic on a south—westerly wind. but there is some much colder airjust sitting to the north of the uk, on the northern flank of this area of low pressure. this low will drive the weather across the uk this christmas day. it will push bands of showers through with some sunny interludes between times but occasionally, the showers lumping together into more persistent spells of rain, perhaps for northern ireland and northern england through the afternoon, later in the day towards the south—east. mild to the south. afternoon temperatures, 10, 11 degrees. but notice, the keen—eyed amongst you, the map turning blue across scotland through the afternoon — temperatures will actually come down through the day. now, the definition of a white christmas is not for blanket snow coverage butjust one flake of snow to fall anywhere in the uk during the 2a hours of christmas day. so, colder air in across scotland with showers coming in through the evening, and it looks like we could see a white christmas here. perhaps the odd flurry for northern ireland, too.

for boxing day, the colder air extending, though, all the way south across the uk. a frosty start. look out for some ice across scotland, parts of northern england after the showers overnight. the south—east and east anglia getting off to a frost—free start but the colder air will trickle in here through the course of boxing day. i think there will be a lot of brightness once any early rain clears from the south—east, but it will feel chillier. further north, the showers continue and they're likely to be wintry across western scotland, drifting some down into the pennines, the odd one across the mountains of northern ireland as well. and temperatures lower across the board for boxing day afternoon. however, this spell, if you like, of cold weather is barely a fleeting glance, really, of arctic air, because as we look further on into the week ahead, the final days of 2022, we start to pick up a more atlantic influence. once again, areas of low pressure whirling in from the atlantic. our temperatures return closer to average values, if not slightly above, but there will be some quite showery, if not wet and windy, spells of weather to come in the following days.

welcome to bbc news. i'm david willis. our top stories: engineers struggle to restore power to millions in north america as one of the worst winter storms in living memory grips the region. the taliban clamps down further on women's rights in afghanistan, barring them from working for aid agencies. and the pope remembers those who are caught up in devastating wars as he holds his christmas eve mass in the vatican. hello and welcome to bbc news.