this is bbc world news. the 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 least 2a people have died in the united states as a severe arctic freeze continues to grip much of north america. the scope of the storm has been unprecendented, stretching from canada as far south as the rio grande. police in liverpool, in the north of england, are hunting a gunman after a 26—year—old woman died — and 4 were injured in a pub shooting on christmas eve. four major aid organisations are suspending all their work in afghanistan following the order by taliban authorities banning the employment of women at humanitarian agencies. the international rescue committee,

irc, has become the latest agency to halt its activity in the country. 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 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. rap music continues. 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 ukrainian. 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.

hello, there. the most common weather watcher picture to be sent in on christmas day was one of rainbows. yes, it was a mild christmas day. sunny spells and scattered showers. plenty of scenes like this to be found. but we are looking at something a little bit colder as we head into boxing day, with this area of low pressure bringing a brief change of wind direction, and that is going to enhance some snow showers, as cold air tucks in behind that weather front as it sinks south. so first thing on boxing day, we could be waking up to a dusting of snow in the far north—west of scotland. a few centimetres at lower levels, 5—10 centimetres at higher ground and as snow showers are set to continue here through the day, we could see those accumulations starting to tot up even further. so some snow showers in the far north—west. showers of rain into northern ireland, north—west england, western facing coasts of wales and south—west england as well. further inland, with any shelter, you should see some glimpses of sunshine, and a little milder

here, ten degrees. but factor in the strength and direction of the wind further north and west, it's going to feel noticeably colder, i suspect. now, as we say goodbye to boxing day, the weather story is set to change out to the west, with something milder and wetter gradually pushing in. once again, the wind direction swings back to a south—westerly so it means a milder start here. we still keep the cold air in scotland, though, first thing on tuesday morning. and so that means on the leading edge, there could be a spell of snow for a time but it will change quite quickly back to rain as the milder air floods back in across the uk. some wet and windy weather pushing in across wales, particularly west—facing coasts. so it is going to be a mild but wet tuesday for many and rather windy with it. that frontal system will start to ease away, to be replaced by yet another on wednesday. this area of low pressure sees plenty of isobars tucked in behind the southern flank of that low. that's where we will see

the strongest of the winds. a spell of heavy rain is likely to push its way steadily eastwards as we go through the day. and then that will clear away to sunny spells and blustery showers. wind gusts in excess of 40—50 mph on exposed coasts. quite widely 30mph gusts of wind inland. in terms of the feel of the weather, though, still double figures for england and wales. just that little bit cooler, but not by much, across much of scotland and northern ireland. the mild theme set to continue. now, as we move into thursday, we keep those strong winds, we keep the risk of blustery showers. so as one frontal system pushes away, a trail of showers tucks in from the west and continues, particularly along west—facing coasts. but these will have a little bit of a wintry flavour into the far north—west. with any elevation, we will see further snow showers. six degrees the high, here. ten celsius perhaps into the far south—east. looking further ahead, the jet stream still with us and still driving areas of low pressure across the british isles. you can see the jet stream centred across the uk. that sees one low pressure clear away, only to be replaced by yet another.

it looks likely to stay pretty unsettled as we look further ahead. so here is the story for scotland or northern ireland. some heavy rain at times, blustery winds. not particularly cold. perhaps lowest values around 4—5 degrees.for england and again, noticeably milder. showers or longer spells of rain for many, and the winds remain quite a feature. whatever you're doing, have a lovely holiday.

this is bbc world news. our top stories... 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. four aid organisations have suspended their activities in afghanistan, in response to a ban on women working for humanitarian agencies.