this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak with your headlines. king charles pays tribute to his late mother queen elizabeth and reflects on the cost—of—living crisis in his first christmas message. at this time of great anxiety and hardship, be it for those around the world facing conflict, famine or natural disaster, or for those at home finding ways to pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm. at least 2a people have died in the united states as north america faces severe winter conditions. around ten people have been buried in an avalanche at a ski resort in lech/zuers, in western austria. one person has so far been rescued. police in liverpool, in the north of england, are hunting a gunman after a 26—year—old woman died

and four were injured in a pub shooting on christmas eve. three aid organisations have suspended their activities in afghanistan, in response to a ban on women working for humanitarian agencies. hello and welcome to bbc news. king charles has used his first christmas message as monarch to reflect on the cost—of—living crisis. he spoke of the "great anxiety and hardship" for those struggling to "pay their bills and keep theirfamilies fed and warm". the king also paid tribute to his mother, queen elizabeth, who is buried in st george's chapel, from where the king delivered his speech. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell has more. christmas at sandringham

for the first time since the start of the pandemic. familiar routines were resumed — though, without that most familiar of figures, queen elizabeth. king charles and the queen consort led the royal family from church. just behind them, the prince and princess of wales, with all three of their children, george, charlotte and four—year—old louis. also there with the family group, the duke of york. the wales�*s spent time with spectators receiving their bunches of flowers, and then back to the main house for christmas lunch and the king's first christmas broadcast. the king's message was recorded in st george's chapel, windsor, close to the spot where the late queen was laid to rest. christmas is a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones.

we feel their absence at every familiar turn of the season and remember them in each cherished tradition. the king spoke about his mother's faith in the everlasting light of god. my mother's belief in the power of that light was an essential part of herfaith in god, but also herfaith in people. and it is one which i share with my whole heart. the king said this ability to touch the lives of others was evident in the selfless dedication of so many, including the emergency services and health and social care professionals. and it was particularly needed at the moment. at this time of great anxiety and hardship, be it for those around the world facing conflict, famine or natural disaster, or for those at home finding ways to pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm.

we see it in the humanity of people throughout our nations and the commonwealth who so readily respond to the plight of others. the king said he wanted to pay particular tribute to those who ran foodbanks, helping those in greatest need. our churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and gurdwaras have once again united in feeding the hungry, providing love and support throughout the year. working members of the royalfamily were shown, however, there was no mention of the duke and duchess of sussex. the king's message ended on a note of hope. so whatever faith you have or whether you have none, it is in this life giving light and with the true humility that lies in our service to others that i believe we can find hope for the future.

a first christmas message from king charles and one with a strong sense of social awareness for families who are struggling to feed themselves or keep warm. officials say it would be strange if the head of state did not recognise and feel an empathy for people facing such difficult times. nicholas witchell, bbc news at buckingham palace. tens of millions of americans are hunkered down, in one of the bleakest christmas days in living memory. the arctic storm that's swept through most of the country has so far claimed 2a lives. family travel plans for much of the us have been thrown into chaos or abandoned. a million people are already without power. the bbc�*s emily unia reports. strong winds and sub—zero temperatures. america may have been dreaming of a white christmas but not like this.

countless roads are closed or impassable. even the gritter got stuck. around 250 million people across the united states and canada are facing festive weather chaos. anything can happen at any moment and you've got to be on your toes. thousands of flights have been cancelled, delayed trains have left passengers stranded for hours. conditions are so bad, new york state's banned driving. it is life—threatening, what is going on as we speak in buffalo. getting calls through the night from frightened neighbours where the temperature has been off for many hours, for a day, a day and a half. and we still have, state—wide, about 73,000 homes without power. families hoping to celebrate together for the first time since coronavirus will be cruelly disappointed, many without the electricity to cook a christmas dinner at all. i'm really glad that i have a fireplace because otherwise i would be freezing right now. oh, my god!

0n the east coast, there were high winds, huge waves and flooding. i think i'll shut our window. what time is high tide? even at the border with mexico, temperatures dropped below freezing, making the challenging journey to enter the united states even more difficult. but warmer weather's on the way. temperatures are expected to rise again on boxing day. emily unia, bbc news. annick ruedi has been sheltering in her rv trailer in texas. she travelled there with her daughter in the hope of christmas spent somewhere warm. we're not very warm at the moment, so i thinkjust about, yeah, an hourago, we had to reinstall electricity. we lost heat. we had no internet. so it's been a challenge on our interesting journey that we embarked on. and we're also a little bit warm because we got to open our christmas presents and we got warmed

by our heart and our love. now, i need an introduction to that beautiful young lady. who was ijust speaking to, annick? that's my daughter, emily. she's nine. emily, this has been quite a road trip for you, hasn't it? what were you expecting when you drove down to texas? how was it all going until that storm hit? it was going pretty well... it was very interesting. and we discovered more things and exploring. and i like to explore new stores, to find new stuff. i like to travel. ilike to... meet new people. but what about our stop right now? do you think it's...? what do you think about

the cold temperatures? i think i'm very... i'm very nervous and confused, because... i got confused because i was expecting there was going to be snow, but i'm actually sad because there's no snow. but... annick... sorry, emily, i'mjust going tojump in quickly. thank you for that description because that explains it for many people, the reaction to this weather. annick, obviously you drove down from canada. i can see the maple leafjumper. yes, we did leave... my dream was to spend one christmas at least by a warm beach, sunny, and on thursday, we did have 23 degrees, gorgeous weather, and in 12 hours, it dropped 37 degrees to —14. living in canada, you're used to cold, you're used

to the snow, you get over it, but being down here... we're definitely not spending our christmas by the beach. i think we tried to take some christmas pictures with our hats. in less than 45 seconds, you know, it was so cold, we had to run back inside. it is a very different christmas. and that was annick and emmaline speaking to me earlier. helicopters and rescue teams are searching for survivors of an avalanche in austria. reports say around ten people were buried in an off—piste area of the lech/zuers resort in vorarlberg in the west of the country. one person has so far been rescued. a shooting at a packed pub on merseyside late last night has left a woman dead and three men in hospital with gunshot wounds. it happened at the lighthouse inn in wallasey village. merseyside police called for more information from the community

to catch the gunman. i can today confirm that a 26—year—old woman has died following a shooting at the lighthouse inn in wallasey village on christmas eve. as you can imagine, her devastated family are inconsolable and heartbroken. the woman was enjoying a night out with family and friends when the callous and cold—blooded shooting took place at the pub. the people of liverpool and merseyside are known for their compassion and pulling together in times of crisis. and we have already had an overwhelming response from the public following the murder, particularly from people who were in the pub last night. but we do need more information so that we can find those responsible for this callous murder and the wounding of four others, one of whom is in a critical condition, so that we can find justice for the victim and her family.

this is not the time for anyone who knows who is responsible for this shooting to stay quiet. the person responsible for this incident and those who assisted him last night need to be caught, and now is the time for our communities to come together with us to show that the use of guns on our streets will not be tolerated. and staying in liverpool... a 22—year—old woman who died after being hit by a police car in the city on christmas eve has been named as rachael moore. she was described by her family in a statement as a "cherished" daughter, sister, granddaughter, partner and friend. mersyside police say they are providing assistance to the independent office for police conduct and are appealing for witnesses to the incident. president putin has accused the west of trying to tear russia apart

in comments to russian tv. mr putin said moscow was ready to negotiate to end the war, but kyiv was refusing to engage in talks. officials in ukraine say three emergency workers were 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'd been working to make safe — detonated. 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 zelensky said russian air strikes 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. that was president zelensky there. three foreign aid organisations are suspending all their work in afghanistan — after the taliban banned women from working for humanitarian agencies. the move by care, the norwegian refugee council and save the children came as the un and other agencies held a meeting in the capital, kabul, to discuss the situation. shabnam safa is chair of the national refugee—led advisory and advocacy group and a member of the action for afghanistan campaign in australia. she told us international reaction had not gone far enough. this is a calculated,

systematic strategy towards complete erasure of women in afghanistan. we know that this is so much bigger thanjust banning education or banning, now, as of today, employment in most areas for women. this is 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. and that was shabnam safa there. pakistan's military says five of its soldiers have been killed in a bomb blast in the south—western province of balochistan. it said the troops were conducting a clearance operation when an improvised explosive device went off in the district of kohlu. a militant group — balochistan liberation army — that seeks greater political autonomy said it carried out the bombing. elsewhere, 15 people have been injured in five different grenade

attacks in the province. those are your stories here on bbc world news. now, here's another chance to see today's king's speech. organ plays # god save our gracious king # long live our noble king # god save the king # send him victorious # happy and glorious # long to reign over us

# god save the king. # i'm standing here in this exquisite chapel of st george at windsor castle, so close to where my beloved mother, the late queen, is laid to rest with my dear father. i am reminded of the deeply touching letters, cards and messages which so many of you have sent my wife and myself. and i cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family. christmas is a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones. we feel their absence at every familiar turn of the season and remember them in each cherished tradition.

in the much—loved carol 0 little town of bethlehem, we sing of how, "in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light." my mother's belief in the power of that light was an essential part of herfaith in god, but also herfaith in people. and it is one which i share with my whole heart. it is a belief in the extraordinary ability of each person to touch, with goodness and compassion, the lives of others, and to shine a light in the world around them. this is the essence of our community and the very foundation of our society. we see it in the selfless dedication of our armed forces and emergency services, who work tirelessly to keep us all safe, and who performed so magnificently as we mourned the passing of our late queen.

we see it in our health and social care professionals, our teachers, and indeed all those working in public service, whose skill and commitment are at the heart of our communities. and at this time of great anxiety and hardship, be it for those around the world facing conflict, famine or natural disaster, or for those at home finding ways to pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm, we see it in the humanity of people throughout our nations and the commonwealth who so readily respond to the plight of others. i particularly want to pay tribute to all those wonderfully kind people who so generously give food or donations or, that most precious commodity of all, their time,

to support those around them in greatest need. together with the many charitable organisations which do such extraordinary work in the most difficult circumstances. our churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and gurdwaras have once again united in feeding the hungry, providing love and support throughout the year. such heartfelt solidarity is the most inspiring expression of loving our neighbour as ourself. the prince and princess of wales recently visited wales, shining a light on practical examples of this community spirit. some years ago, i was able to fulfil a lifelong wish to visit bethlehem and the church of the nativity.