this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm annita mcveigh. our top stories: at least 20 people have died in extreme winter storms in the us and canada — more than one million people are without power. three aid organisations have suspended their activities in afghanistan in response to a ban on women working for humanitarian agencies. as ten civilians are killed by russian shelling in the ukrainian city of kherson, president zelensky says airstrikes will not diminish the spirit of ukrainians. we will return freedom to all ukrainians. wherever we are, we will be together today. and together, we will look into the evening sky. and pope francis has called for an immediate end to the war in ukraine

during his christmas day message. hello and welcome to bbc news. more than a million americans and canadians are facing christmas day without power as a winter storm continues to barrel its way across north america. the so—called bomb cyclone has brought heavy snow, strong winds, and freezing temperatures. at least 20 people have died because of icy roads, and high winds uprooted trees. howard johnson reports. subzero temperatures... ..whiteouts. .. ..and flooding. from toronto to new orleans, north america is experiencing

a winter storm of epic proportions. nearly 250 million americans and canadians are believed to be affected, with more than 1.5 million people without power. thousands of flights have been cancelled and major roads closed, ruining christmas travel plans. a 46 car pile—up in ohio left four dead. while in kansas city, one person died when their car plunged into an icy creek. in hard—hit new york state, driving has been banned to prevent further casualties. the conditions, the blinding snow, the zero visibility, absolute whiteouts, it may go down as one of the worst in history. canadian travellers were reportedly stranded on stalled trains for up to 18 hours.

unfortunately, the trains were cancelled for today, so just trying to get back home for the holidays now. i came down from peterborough for this, got a ride down from my brother—in—law, and he's coming back now to get me. and then we'll see what we're going to do. i'm waiting for a cab to go - to a hotel and stay there for a day, hopefully it's just a day, l and i go back to toronto. officials are urging people to stay at home to avoid temperatures as low as —45 degrees celsius, capable of turning boiling water into snow and bubbles into ice balls. but meteorologists say the subzero temperatures brought by this sudden storm are likely to lift rapidly, with conditions easing as early as boxing day. howard johnson, bbc news. it's a similar story injapan, where heavy snow in the north and surrounding areas has left more than a dozen people dead and at least 80 injured.

over 10,000 households have also been left without power, and the meteorological agency has warned that snowstorms and high waves along the sea of japan coast could lead to snow drifts up to 60 centimetres deep. an air raid alert has been issued for the whole of ukraine in the last few hours. unconfirmed reports suggest it happened after russian jets took to the skies in belarus. president putin later said he's100% sure that russia will destroy us patriot missiles in ukraine and that the west is seeking to, in his words, tear russia apart. it comes as officials in ukraine say three emergency workers have been killed on saturday in the southern region of kherson. the authorities said they'd been in an area liberated from russian forces. an explosive device which they had been working to make safe detonated, killing them all. also on saturday, russian shelling killed at least ten civilians in the city, among the deadliest attacks since russian forces were driven out of kherson last month.

in a defiant video message on christmas eve, president volodymyr zelensky said russian airstrikes would not harm what he called the steel spirit of ukrainians. translation: someone will see it on the highway, on the road - from the ukrainian—polish border to kherson or zaporizhzhia. some will see it through the holes of the bullet—riddled roof of their own homes. someone will celebrate the holiday in other people's homes, but not with strangers. and someone will spend this christmas in captivity, but please remember that we are coming for our people. we will return freedom to all ukrainians. wherever we are, we will be together today. and together, we will look into the evening sky. in his traditional christmas message, pope francis has urged for an end to what as he put it as �*senseless war�* in ukraine. the 86—year—old head of the catholic church addressed the faithful from the central balcony of st peter's basilica in the vatican.

he condemned the use of food as �*a weapon of war�* and called for solidarity to assist all those suffering. translation: let our eyes be filled with the faces of our ukrainian - brothers and sisters who are living this christmas in the dark and cold, farfrom their homes, due to the devastation and destruction caused by ten months of war. may the lord inspire us to offer concrete gestures of solidarity to assist all those who are suffering, and may he enlighten the minds of those who have the power to silence the thunder of weapons and put an immediate end to this senseless war. tragically, we prefer to heed other counsels dictated by worldly ways of thinking, yet who is listening

to the voice of the child? our europe regional editor, paul moss, was listening to the pope's message. to put this in context, the pope this year has been criticised by some for not criticising russia, denouncing russia, and others say he has been too strident. at the end of last month, he talked about the cruelty of russian troops. not surprisingly, moscow complained. others say he needs to be more explicit. we heard, may the lord enlighten the minds of those who have the power to silence the thunder of weapons. he doesn't name russia, and that will annoy some people, even if they feel that he was implicitly talking about russia. in non—religious terms, we would say it was a plea, please come to your senses. we know that every war causes hunger and exploits food as a weapon. let us start with those who hold responsibility to make food...

an instrument of peace again. those who hold responsibility. he doesn't criticise russia explicitly. that will annoy some people. we should remember, he doesn't ignore the suffering of the people of ukraine. we heard him talking about it explicitly. those who experience this christmas in the dark and the cold. he seems to be treading a middle path where some would say no middle path is appropriate. we should remember the question, how much do the people of russia and ukraine care about the pope? this is a conflict between two predominantly orthodox countries. there are catholics in ukraine, i think about 10% of the population. but he did talk about other conflicts. the pope was keen that we shouldn't forget other conflicts while all attention is understandably on ukraine. he talked about syria, which is still scarred by conflict. he talked about israel—palestine, where there has been an increase in violence in the last few months. he expresses hopes for the christian communities which live in the middle

east. he said he hoped they would be able to sustain. he talked about other conflicts, called for reconciliation in iran. he also said he hoped for a calming of tension in the americas, we should remember he is a latin american pope, and talked about haiti, a situation that many people aren't focusing on, where there is no war but the government has collapsed. covering a lot of ground. just time to ask about the archbishop of canterbury, who has also been giving his christmas address. what has he had to say? he paid tribute to the late queen, said she put her interests above others. he also weighed into politically controversial territory. the archbishop has been criticised this year for talking about the situation with asylum seekers. britain has a plan to send them to rwanda, which he said does not stand the judgment of god, so all eyes on him. he didn't back off

the subject today. he said jesus�* heart reaches out to those on the small boats, a reference to those trying to cross the english channel and also the mediterranean, and refugees around the world. the united nations and ngos in afghanistan are meeting today to discuss whether to suspend aid operations in response to a taliban order banning women agency employees, the un said this violated fundamental rights. three foreign ngos have already stopped work in the country following the move. this latest erosion on the rights of women in the country comes just days after female students were banned from universities. naomi choy smith reports. the blows just keep coming for the women of afghanistan. here they are met by water cannons, days after the taliban blocked them from a university education. now they are also barred from working for ngos, following claims that some staffers failed to wear the hijab correctly.

it is the latest assault on women's rights in afghanistan since the taliban returned to power last year, and it could have a devastating impact on the incomes of afghan families, as well as the life—saving work of aid agencies. women who are working right now in the ngos are the only breadwinners for theirfamilies, the only people who are working and bringing income to their families, in the context that there are no job opportunities and there is an economic crisis going on. dozens of non—governmental organisations working in afghanistan could be affected by the latest ban. the international rescue committee says its 3,000 female staffers are critical for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and it is "dismayed by the move". us secretary of state antony blinken also shared his deep concern, tweeting that the taliban order will disrupt vital and life—saving assistance to millions.

hejoins a growing international chorus of condemnation. the un called it a clear breach of humanitarian principles, and the european union said it is assessing the impact of its aid in afghanistan. but as the outrage grows, the women of afghanistan continue to fade from public life, with many of their most basic rights under threat. naomi choy smith, bbc news. shabnam safa is chair of the national refugee—led advisory and advocacy group and member of the �*action for afghanistan�* campaign in australia. she told us the international reaction has been farfrom enough. i�*m absolutely gutted. not surprised, but very, very disgusted and also disappointed in just in the lack of outrage by the entire international community, including australia, where i am. most of my work is, you know, this is a calculated, systematic strategy towards complete

erasure of women in afghanistan. we know that this is so much bigger than just banning education or banning now as of today, employment in most areas for women, this is a a sickening approach towards stripping women of their agency and power in society and going back to the horrors of the last century, when the taliban were in power for the first time. joining me now from kabul, obaidullah baheer, a lecturer at the american university of afghanistan. thank you forjoining us. my first question is, if you stop women working for these ngos, charitable organisations, what is the impact on the women and the children they have been helping?—

been helping? there are multiple wa s to been helping? there are multiple ways to look _ been helping? there are multiple ways to look at _ been helping? there are multiple ways to look at it. _ been helping? there are multiple ways to look at it. there - been helping? there are multiple ways to look at it. there are - been helping? there are multiple ways to look at it. there are also | ways to look at it. there are also the families that these people support. most of these women that work at these organisations are the sole breadwinners of their families. the government was the biggest employer of women in afghanistan and thosejobs have employer of women in afghanistan and those jobs have ceased to exist because of the taliban. the education sector followed. that doesn�*t exist any more as well, and now they have taken away the ngos. on the ground, the fact that so many organisations had female staff, including one like irc, had up to three 3000 people, women were engaged in the delivery, and once that doesn�*t exist, and in reaction we have heard them closing down their offices, it means a very large population of afghanistan gets locked out of aid that it desperately needs. 50 locked out of aid that it desperately needs. locked out of aid that it deseratel needs. , ., , desperately needs. so people will suffer, desperately needs. so people will suffer. women — desperately needs. so people will suffer, women and _ desperately needs. so people will suffer, women and children - suffer, women and children primarily, as a result of this. are we saying that the so—called new

taliban are exactly the same as the old taliban? to taliban are exactly the same as the old taliban?— old taliban? to contextualise it, this is probably _ old taliban? to contextualise it, this is probably a _ old taliban? to contextualise it, this is probably a worse - old taliban? to contextualise it, this is probably a worse version | old taliban? to contextualise it, i this is probably a worse version of the taliban. there is some sort of light at the end of the tunnel, in a way where it is good that the emir ended up playing all of his cards in one go. had all of these rights been taken one after the other in a more subtle manner, may be the world would not have time to react to all of them, or react to all of them, so the fact that all of it happened together means that we are now asking very difficult questions. i headed a meeting yesterday in which one of the major elements that we discussed was whether we should be campaigning for these aid organisations to cease operations or to stop sending aid to afghanistan. the argument given by some was, maybe we can suffer temporary pain for now as long as it means that a solution of the taliban of the regime falling. however, the question is, we are not sure that

the regime will fall due to the aid stopping, orthat the regime will fall due to the aid stopping, or that there is any reward at the end of that suffering, so it is such a difficult conversation to have, because it�*s notjust conversation to have, because it�*s not just the taliban conversation to have, because it�*s notjust the taliban making these decisions. we have to come up with strategies to show that the world is reacting to this without hurting the 35 million population that are already in danger.— 35 million population that are already in danger. very briefly, we are almost — already in danger. very briefly, we are almost out _ already in danger. very briefly, we are almost out of— already in danger. very briefly, we are almost out of time, _ already in danger. very briefly, we are almost out of time, do - already in danger. very briefly, we are almost out of time, do you - already in danger. very briefly, we i are almost out of time, do you think the criticism from some other muslim nations of what the taliban in afghanistan are doing will have any impact on the taliban? that afghanistan are doing will have any impact on the taliban?— impact on the taliban? that is contingent _ impact on the taliban? that is contingent on _ impact on the taliban? that is contingent on the _ impact on the taliban? that is contingent on the fact - impact on the taliban? that is contingent on the fact that - impact on the taliban? that isj contingent on the fact that the taliban don�*t know what they are doing and what the consequences of it are. they claim to be the biggest authorities on religion themselves, so it is not like anyone else preaching to them will change their mind. i guess hoping for them to reform unless something drastic happens internally. short of that, it�*s up to us, we have to stand up,

a civil disobedience campaign has to follow, and i hope it pays off. thank you very much. a young woman has died after a shooting at a busy pub near liverpool in northwest england late last night. a number of others were also injured in the incident at the lighthouse inn in wallasey village shortly before midnight. merseyside police have launched a murder investigation and say a search is under way for the gunman, the area�*s mp, angela eagle, has described the shooting as heartbreaking. sarah rogers reports from the scene. last night, the lighthouse inn here was busy, bustling, full of young people. it sits in wallasey village, which is at the end of a main road. there are restaurants and shops here. and this bar was full of young people celebrating christmas eve. we can still see that there are beer bottles that have been strewn outside as people were just having a drink, but that all ended ten minutes to midnight when a gunman shot and killed a woman.

three men have been injured and they are being treated in hospital. we are told that a number of other people have also been hurt. details are still emerging, but police say they believe the gunman left the car park in a dark car after the shooting, possibly a mercedes. they say their inquiries are now extensive. in a statement, they told us that this investigation is in the very early stages. "we understand that it is truly shocking and devastating, especiallyjust before christmas day in a busy venue full of young people." and it is that word, it is shocking, but devastating as well. devastating to any friends, any family at any time of year but especially on christmas day. officers say they are also appealing for anybody who was here, anybody who has any phone footage to contact them as a matter of urgency as this manhunt continues. king charles is expected to pay

tribute to his mother, queen elizabeth ii, in his first televised christmas message as monarch. the king and queen consort are spending the day at sandringham where they will host the royal family�*s traditional gathering. here the pictures from less than an hour ago, of the king and the royal family walking into church, joined by the queen consort, the prince and princess of wales and their children. let�*s go live now to sandringham in norfolk where, as we�*ve been hearing, the royal family will be gathering for their traditional christmas celebrations, including a church service. charlotte gallagher is there for us. the first christmas without queen elizabeth, but her legacy still very much dominates the traditions at sandringham. it does, and i imagine it is quite a bittersweet day for the royal family. we have all had those

holidays where someone who was such an important part of them is no longer there, and the queen was so associated with sandringham. she loved this place, she knew many of the people who lived in the area and worked on the estate, and she had christmas traditions. baubles would always be left to the great grandchildren to hang on trees, and they would open their presents on christmas eve, as is the german tradition, because that is where her family originated from. lots of the traditions the queen had, we don�*t know if king charles will keep all of them, but we know he kept the main one, which was going to church on christmas morning with the royal family, and king charles and the queen consort camilla led the senior royals on the short walk from the house to the church. hundreds of people lined the route so they could see the royal family. people lined the route so they could see the royalfamily. the prince and princess of wales were there, their children, prince george, princess charlotte and prince louis, their youngest child, he came to church for the first time ever. you might

remember during thejubilee he had some scene stealing moments. the newspapers and tv cameras loved him. he was there today as well. surprisingly for some, though, prince andrew also arrived at church with his family. he is not often seenin with his family. he is not often seen in public with the royalfamily because of the extent really of the relationship he had with the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein, so a bit of a surprise to see him. he didn�*t really mingle as much with the crowds as the other members of the royal family did. lots of people coming out to see them, people bringing presents, bunches of flowers, and some even queued up overnight, camped out to your overnightjust to get queued up overnight, camped out to your overnight just to get a queued up overnight, camped out to your overnightjust to get a good spot. when we arrived this morning, it was dark and cold and there were still people here who had been queueing up overnight. and we saw earlier that you had some really interesting conversations with the people gathered to see the royal family. with the people gathered to see the royalfamily. give us with the people gathered to see the royal family. give us a flavour of that, charlotte. we had a singing dog. that probably

sounds weird. they dog called judge gabor —— zsa zsa gabor. the dogs like singing. they were singing on bbc news. their owner, dave, said theyjust bbc news. their owner, dave, said they just love bbc news. their owner, dave, said theyjust love singing. they say not to work with dogs, but it was actually very fun. there was a lady called amanda who had met the queen years ago when she wanted to come and see the royal family, years ago when she wanted to come and see the royalfamily, and it really was a fun atmosphere, lots of people bringing bunches of flowers as well. but you really do get people making all the effort, putting on their glad rags for the day, and you also get dogs making the effort, putting on their gladrags as well. charlotte at sandringham. the ukrainian president has recorded a defiant video message as his country marks its first christmas since the invasion of russia. volodymyr zelensky said russian missiles could not harm his country�*s �*steel spirit�*. hugo bachega has been to meet one

family in kyiv to find out how they are coping. it�*s a small gesture, but a symbol of defiance. this couple don�*t usually celebrate christmas in december. but this year is different. with russian soldiers in their country, it is a moment of change, to break away from old traditions. translation: we celebrate christmas together as catholics, _ the same way they do. we don�*t want to give the russians a reason to think we won�*t have a holiday. in their building, no lights and no lift. russia�*s attacks on essential infrastructure means they only have electricity for a few hours a day. minutes after we arrive, the air raid alert goes off and we take cover. a reminder that, even away from the front lines, the threat is never far away. translation: i can't say this is a comfortable life, -

but it is not the worst that can happen. i accept it. it is a temporary trouble. with power back, it is time to decorate. they are trying to carry on as normal. what are you hoping for this christmas? translation: | really want - all children to meet their parents alive and healthy, and for ukraine to win with as little bloodshed as possible. translation: i wish one thing for christmas. - victory. a victory for the ukrainian army, victory for the ukrainian people. ukrainians are trying to find reasons to celebrate. they remain determined to resist. but here, and across the country, many are in the dark and in the cold. the war won�*t stop for christmas. but people are not losing hope. this is the first time this orthodox church marks christmas eve

on the 24th of december. stanislav is remembering those who aren�*t here. my wife and my child, they are outside ukraine. so i miss them a lot. from one side, it�*s really, really sad. because i am alone in here. and from another side, i am so happy my wife and child are in safety. a day that brings some light amid the darkness of war. hugo bachega, bbc news. maxi jazz, the lead singer of british dance band faithless, has died — at the age of 65. the musician, whose real name was maxwell fraser, was a core member of the group alongside rollo and sister bliss, who released a number of hit tracks together, including insomnia and we come one. his former bandmate sister bliss said he died "peacefully in his sleep" last night.

you are watching bbc news. hello. merry christmas, one and all. if you haven�*t been outside, you are not missing much, rather grey story for christmas day. while for most, but some showers around as well, some claiming the far south—east, but this frontier will move the showers into the far north—west, as the day continues dragging some cold air in behind. most of us staying under the yellow, meaning it is mild for the time of year. the latest radar, the rain easing from the south—east, plenty of shop showers pushing into western coasts, and even some wintry showers on high ground in scotland. that means this christmas day is probably likely to be classed as a white christmas. we

just need one snowflake falling on christmas day. further snow showers in the evening and overnight. we will start to see accumulations developing in scotland, may be as much as ten centimetres on higher ground. certainly worth bearing in mind. elsewhere, some showers, meaning icy stretches in northern ireland. largely fine and quiet and a little bit milder to stop boxing day across england and wales. first thing on boxing day, some ice to watch out for in northern ireland ended to scotland. further snow showers and accumulations into the far north—west are likely, but elsewhere we should see some sunshine coming through on boxing day. there will be further showers, particularly on exposed west facing coasts. the best of any shelter, dry weather, we should see double figures, 10 celsius quite widely across eastern england. as we move out of monday into tuesday, we are likely to see this with front

introducing milder air once again, but unfortunately, more of an unsettled feel, so we will see some snow for a time, but it should turn quickly back to rain for most at lower levels in scotland. some heavy rain along west facing coasts, driven by gusty winds, 40—50 mph on exposed coasts, 30 mph inland. temperatures may be as high as 11 celsius in the south—east. that showery, windy theme will continue for the remainder of the week, but largely mild for all. take care.

this is bbc news. the headlines... a million people in the united states are without power on christmas morning as large parts of north america continue to endure record—breaking cold weather. at least 20 people have died in the us and canada. three aid organisations have suspended their activities in afghanistan in response to a ban on women working for humanitarian agencies. care, the norwegian refugee council and save the children said they could not effectively reach afghans in need. ten civilians have been killed by russian shelling in the ukrainian city of kherson and three emergency workers lost their lives in demining operations in the area. president zelensky says airstrikes will not dampen ukrainians�* spirits. pope francis has called for an immediate end