this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. 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. 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 aid organisations have suspended their activities in afghanistan, in response to a ban on women working for humanitarian agencies.

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 their families 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. millions of people in the us and canada are spending christmas in the grip of a severe winter storm, which has brought extreme frost, heavy snow and strong winds. at least 26 people have died in weather related incidents and about 175 thousand homes are without power. our north america correspondent, nomia iqbal, reports a very white christmas has turned more into a deep freeze. the city of buffalo in new york state is used to tough weather conditions but this storm has left it paralysed. many don't even have any power to cook their christmas lunch. i'm really glad that i have a fireplace because otherwise i'd be freezing right now. 43 inches of snow fell here as of christmas morning.

driving is banned as the blizzard conditions leave roads impassable, power substations frozen and at least seven people dead. we are in a war. this is a war with mother nature and she has been hitting us with everything she has since the late hours of thursday and into friday, saturday and now on christmas morning. and this will go down in history as the most devastating storm in buffalo's long—storied history of having battled many battles, many major storms. in the midwest, four people were killed earlier in the week in a pile—up in ohio. four others died in crashes in missouri and kansas. the nation's capital has avoided much of the worst weather but the bomb cyclone has left its mark. hundreds of water pipes are frozen, temperatures continue to drop and many of the city's homeless people have been given emergency shelter. the storm is continuing to barrel up along the east coast

here and across much of the us, and the advice remains to avoid travelling unless it's essential. and it's notjust the snow and ice causing mayhem. high winds have brought high tides and flooding on the eastern seaboard. forecasters say the storm will ease off in the next few days but freezing temperatures are likely to linger for some time. nomia iqbal, bbc news, washington. rescue teams are searching for survivors of an avalanche in western austria. it's thought two people remain unaccounted for after a number of skiers were buried by snow in an off—piste area of the lech—zurs resort. helena wilkinson reports. a huge rescue operation is continuing tonight for two people who are understood to be still missing. helicopters are being used in the search over lech—zurs, two popular ski resorts next to each

other in western austria. the avalanche happened at around three o'clock in the afternoon local time. around 100 people were brought in to help with the search. initially it was feared that at least ten people had been buried under the snow. it's now reported that six of them escaped uninjured. two others had to be treated in hospital. rescuers say they will continue searching through the night in the hope they find the two people who are still missing. helena wilkinson, bbc news. 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. french officials say the man suspected of killing three kurdish people in paris on friday has confessed to a hatred of foreigners. the suspect was placed in psychiatric care after being questioned by police. the man has several previous convictions for weapons offences. seven people, including dual nationals with claimed links to the uk, have been arrested in connection with the current wave of anti—government protests in iran. a statement from the revolutionary guards in the south—eastern province of kerman described them as members of a uk—linked organisation involved in guiding and directing revolutionary plots. it said they were detained as they were trying to leave the country. police investigating the shooting of a 26—year—old woman at a pub near liverpool last night — have appealed for the public to come forward with any information relating to the incident. merseyside police said it did not believe the victim — who was out with her sister and friends at the lighthouse inn in wallasey —

was targeted by the gunman. four other people were also injured in the attack — one is in a critical condition. our north of england correspondent, judith moritz reports. late on christmas eve, the pub was full of people counting down the minutes towards midnight. it was a lively scene, butjust before 12:00am the pub�*s neighbours heard a particularly loud noise. i was in bed and i was on phone and i heard a bang, bang, bang, bang — fourtimes. i waited, because i thought it was going to be a firework and i thought i would hear the ssh. but then i didn't hear the shush. a gunman opened fire directly towards the front door of the pub, his shots hitting a 26—year—old woman in the head. despite efforts to save her, she died of her injuries. herfamily are said to be inconsolable. he also shot another four

people, one of whom is in a critical condition. the fact that this has happened on christmas eve makes the tragedy even more unpalatable and shows those responsible have no regard for members of the public who just want to be able to live their lives without fear. at the time the offender fired the gun there were a large number of people enjoying a night out at the lighthouse inn, and the actions of the gunman were totally and utterly reckless. there's been a lot of focus recently on gun crime on merseyside, especially following the shooting of a nine—year—old girl in liverpool in august. the police tell me that it's too soon to know whether this shooting is connected to any others, but also say that despite what's been happening, the rate of guns being fired in their force area is lower than it's been in the past. this church is almost next door to the pub, and within hours of the shooting its minister found

himself giving the christmas sermon in the shadow of a crime scene. god in christ is with us, he's the prince of peace, so it made it rather poignant this morning, preaching that message in the backdrop of what had happened a few hours earlier, when someone had lost their life, and the tragedy and the violence that ensued there. the pub�*s owners have given cctv material to the police, who say they are looking for a dark mercedes a—class car. they are appealing for anyone with information or camera footage to come forward. judith moritz, bbc news, wallasey, on merseyside. a 22—year—old woman who died after being hit by a police car in liverpool 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 3 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 10 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. five passengers have died after a passenger bus plunged into a river off a bridge in galicia, northwest spain. two survivors — the vehicle's driver and a passenger — were rescued from the river lerez, but strong currents due to heavy rains have been hampering the rescue operation. the coach was travelling between the cities of lugo and vigo. china's national health commission is no longer releasing daily covid—i9 case figures, and will only report what it calls "relevant data" — despite a new surge in the number of cases. according to one government official, 250 million new cases

were reported in the first 20 days of december. 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. earlier, care, the norwegian refugee council and save the children said they could not effectively reach afghans in desperate need without their female staff. but the taliban have rejected the international condemnation saying all those agencies who want to operate in afghanistan should comply with the rules of the country. zahra nader is the editor in chief of zan times, a media outlet that covers human rights in afghanistan. she told us more about the circumstances for women in the country.

we all know that the taliban have issued, the past week, on december 20th they issued a ban on women entering universities. and four days later they issued another decree banning women from working at international ngos at a time where in afghanistan, 98% of afghanistan is not earning enough and half of the country is facing hunger and starvation. and we know the scale of the children that are suffering from malnutrition are rising. just two months ago one of the organisations that they would suspend operations said, the number of children that are dangerously malnutrition are rising 50%. i think those numbers are alarming. and when you compare the numbers to what the taliban are doing, you get back to what afghan women are saying before the taliban takeover and now,

that the taliban cannot be trusted. but unfortunately, as we have witnessed in the past 1.5 years now, the taliban are continuously cutting back on women's rights and participation from society and unfortunately, what we didn't hear a lot is action from international community, from the countries, who are advocating and talking about human rights, women's rights, we are not hearing a lot. first of all, i am very worried for the entire population of the country because we are left with a group who are entirely illogical and they are only functioning based on their hatred of women, their own ideology group and what they are doing is absed on their ideology and what they want to show themselves as "pure" islamic. unlike any other islamic country. do you think these aid agencies should make an effort to continue to try and working afghanistan given the dire situation there?

i won't be really in favour of that because if the countries, the international community will stand still, then the taliban may issue a decree that women have to stay at home, because their soliders are not ready to treat women in their second week in power. i think we would not be here now because we are seeing that the accomadtion get us here. the taliban are banning women from school. the international community is concerned but is not taking any concrete action to respond to the taliban. to say that this is not acceptable. that violating human right, women's rights to the extent the taliban is doing is not acceptable. i understand that this population of afghanistan is bearing and will bear the consequences of this decision. however, as we know, the country is already in crisis. but those who are not listening, those who seemed

comfortable taking these decisions are the taliban because they understand there is no consequence, accountability and there are no international bodies that will make them accountable. to say that this will not be tolerated, the violation of women's rights to the extent we are seeing in afghanistan. this is unlike any other country in the world. afghanistan is the only country in the world that is not letting women to get an education and go to work. these are basic human right. we are talking about basic human right, not even to the level of having equal rights for women and men. we are talking about basic human right and the taliban have denied basic human rights since they have taken over. in his christmas sermon, the archbishop of canterbury has remembered those facing hardship. justin welby also paid tribute to those who've served others in the past year. our religion editor, aleem maqbool, reports on a christmas

where churches have often been a place of refuge and comfort at difficult time for many. one, two, three... santa claus! they're calling out for santa claus in a church in west london. it is a joyful gathering, but the children here, receiving their gifts from santa, have had an unsettling and traumatic year. they're all ukrainian refugees, spending their first christmas away from the country they fled. around 200,000 ukrainians have been given permission to come to the uk since the war started, many of them having suffered the loss of friends and relatives, but all making agonising decisions about leaving behind families and everything they own. in many cases, it is faith organisations and churches here that

have tried to provide support and comfort. that's how it's been for marianna, who came here with her two daughters. i very missed my family, because part of my family is in ukraine, but i have a new family here, and i am very happy that i can share this christmas time with family here in this church, and to be happy and to bejoy. and i'm very happy that my children are smiling now. oh, sorry. and i can cry! it's very good because when i came, i couldn't cry. in his sermon at canterbury cathedral, archbishopjustin welby remembered those suffering at christmas. what of the evils that are being inflicted to this day on the suffering and courageous people of ukraine, as they continue to endure and resist russia's

unjust and brutal invasion of their country? what of those in this country who will be cold and hungry today, as the cost—of—living crisis continues to cause such immense anxiety and hardship? another city, another place of worship, another community in need. this church in salford in manchester is one of around 3,000 places in the country that have opened up as a warm space for those who can't afford to heat their homes this christmas. basically, going back 150 years, this is what the church did. you went to a town, you went to a city, the church was open. you would just go into the building and you would sit and you would probably pray, and the vicar might come and chat to you. so we're only doing what the church has done historically over the years just by opening up our building. some here talked of the way in which their difficulties have been heightened around christmas time, like annie, who's 81. especially when you've got grandchildren, and they're wanting christmas things. so you're cutting things back,

what you'd normally put on the heating and even food, and down here, you get looked after. you know, it's wonderful. is that the position you're in, with grandkids? with grandchildren. i can give them a little bit more than what i could have. coming down here, it helps. but this warm space operates two nights a week. there are many around the country who don't have access to a hub like it at all. thank you very much. merry christmas. and when it comes to food or energy poverty, or to refugees in the uk, the needs since last christmas have soared. aleem maqbool, bbc news in manchester. in his traditional christmas message, pope francis has called for an end to what he described as the �*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 with 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?

before we leave you — a little christmas musical treat. the world—renowned tenor, andrea bocelli, has recorded his first family christmas album — with his son, matteo and daughter, virginia. they've given the bbc a special preview. # feliz navidad # prospero ano y felicidad # feliz navidad # i want to wish

you a merry christmas you a merry christmas # i want to wish you a merry christmas... hello again. i thought i'd start off with confirmation of what you already know, and that is that the vast majority of the uk didn't have a white christmas — not with temperatures like these through christmas afternoon, 13 in chertsey, 12 for london. most parts of the uk had double figure temperatures. and even the far north of scotland, lerwick and shetland, had temperatures around 7 degrees. it was pretty mild, then, for most, but over recent hours and heading into boxing day, we do have a shot of colder air that's working its way in. starting to see some of these showers in highland start to turn wintry. and over the next few hours, yes, you probably will see some snow working into scotland, with the risk of some icy roads as temperatures dip below freezing here. some pockets of frost as well for northern ireland and northern england. mild weather further south. it's going to be a much colder day, then, for boxing day, with some accumulations of snow

building in to scotland, where we could see 1—3 centimetres at low elevations. but up over the high ground, 5—10 centimetres of snow possible, where, along with the strong winds, we're talking about drifting and some blizzard conditions, so could well be some disruption locally in scotland. away from that, plenty of showers for northern ireland, the north—west of both england and wales. one or two wintry showers mixed in, temperatures a lot lower than they were on christmas day, ranging from around 4 to 10 degrees in london. 10 is still actually on the mild side. now, heading into tuesday, we could see a few more issues as well as this area of low pressure piles into the cold air in scotland. now, it could well be that we see a bit of snow on the leading edge of this system, with the snow then turning back to rain. but to the north of the central belt, over the high ground, well, the snow could last a bit longer. and i tentatively suggest we could see something like 5 to 10 centimetres. no warnings outjust yet, but it's worth keeping in touch with the weather forecast across northern scotland for tuesday. further southwards, it's a mild day, quite a windy day, with a band

of rain moving its way across england and wales. those temperatures widely still up into double figures, but that colder air refusing to budge, really, across the very far north of scotland. heading into wednesday and thursday, the weather pattern stays unsettled, with low pressures continuing to spin off the atlantic, bringing further zones of rain. and wednesday, we could see some fairly strong winds around as well, so that's something to bear in mind. running up closer to new year's eve, new year's day, it stays unsettled. generally, temperatures are a bit above average, but do expect more rain at times. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the latest 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 north america faces severe winter conditions. 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. four aid organisations have suspended their activities in afghanistan, in response to a ban on women working for humanitarian agencies.

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