this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories? russia says at least three servicemen have been killed in a ukrainian drone attack on an air force base in the south of the country. china carries out one of its biggest incursions to date in the seas and skies around taiwan. more rohingya refugees reach the indonesian province of aceh as the un refugee agency fears 180 may have died, after their boat was adrift for weeks in the indian ocean. a tenth person has been killed by an explosion at a block of flats injersey earlier this month — kathleen mcginess was injured by the blast and died in hospital yesterday. boxing day sales begin in the uk — but will the high streets be busy or will shoppers be cutting back as the cost

of living crisis bites? the most successful female golfer of all time, kathy whitworth, has died at the age of 83. she won a record 88 ladies professional golf association titles. hello and welcome to bbc news. a russian air base hundreds of kilometres from ukraine has come under attack for the second time in less than a month. the russian defence ministry says the engels base in the southern saratov region was targeted by ukrainian drones during the night. russia says it shot down the drones, but that three of its servicemen were killed by falling debris. the base is host to long—range russian strategic bombers, the type of which have launched numerous missiles

strikes on ukraine. from moscow, our russia editor, steve rosenberg, reports. caught on cctv. an explosion at a russian airbase. russia says it shot down at ukrainian drone and three russian soldiers were killed. engels is deep inside russian territory. hundreds of miles from the ukrainian border. the base hosts long—range bombers, which are believed to have launched missile attacks against ukraine. state tv reacted to the news with a familiar morning to kyiv. russia, she says, will exact revenge, by carrying out more strikes on ukrainian infrastructure. russia can rattle those sabres and flex its muscles, but it doesn't change the fact that what happened

at engels airbase is embarrassing for the kremlin. for the second time in less than a month, what is an important military installation has come attack. quite a contrast to the image of military might that president putin has been portraying in recent days. the kremlin leader has promised his generals all the resources they need for the war in ukraine. he is determined to secure something he can present as a russian victory.— something he can present as a russian victory. putin is not going to back off, _ russian victory. putin is not going to back off, and _ russian victory. putin is not going to back off, and nobody _ russian victory. putin is not going to back off, and nobody else - russian victory. putin is not going to back off, and nobody else is i to back off, and nobody else is going to give him reason to back off. therefore he is going to take steps necessary for him to win, whatever that victory may mean for him. �* ., , ., ,, ., him. but ten months after russia invaded ukraine, _ him. but ten months after russia invaded ukraine, there _ him. but ten months after russia invaded ukraine, there is - him. but ten months after russia invaded ukraine, there is no - him. but ten months after russia invaded ukraine, there is no sign | him. but ten months after russia i invaded ukraine, there is no sign of that victory. instead, the war the kremlin started is moving closer to home. steve rosenberg, bbc news,

moscow. china is carrying out one of its biggest incursions to date in the seas and skies around taiwan. the taiwanese defence ministry says it has detected seventy— one chinese aircraft, the majority of them fighterjets, and seven chinese warships around the island. it added that forty— three chinese airforce planes had crossed the median line of the taiwan strait —— marking the de facto border between the island and the chinese mainland —— in a twenty— four hour period. earlier, we heard from our correspondent mariko oi in singapore who gave us the latest tensions between taiwan and beijing have been quite tense and have been escalating this year, especially after some very high—profile visits by western officials, including nancy pelosi of the united states. also uk lawmakers, japanese lawmakers visiting taiwan, sparking very angry reaction from beijing. then on sunday, christmas day, we saw this intrusion into taiwan's air defence force, so we're talking about fighter jets and drones.

beijing calls it a strike drill and they say this was in response to what it calls provocations by taiwan and the united states. but the office of tsai ing—wen, president of taiwan said that she will be holding a high—level meeting tomorrow to reinforce its civil defence system. south korea says it has scrambled fighterjets and attack helicopters to try to shoot down several unmanned drones flown into its airspace by north korea. around 100 rounds were fired from helicopters, but this failed to bring any of them down. one of the north's drones was reported to have flown close to the south's capital, seoul, prompting the temporary closure of two major airports. lee seung—o is an official from south korea'sjoint chiefs of staff — he earlier held a briefing: 0ur military deployed manned and unmanned reconnaissance

as well as north korea, to take corresponding measures in response to north korea drones that violated our airspace. we conducted reconnaissance and operational activities, such as photographing majormilitary facilities of the enemy. 0ur military will continue to respond thoroughly and sternly to such provocations by north korea. police injersey say a woman who was injured in an explosion at a block of flats earlier this month, has died in hospital. 73—year—old kathleen mcginness, lived an adjacent building to the one which collapsed. she's become the tenth person to die after the incident on the 10th of december. in a statement, jersey's chief of police robin smith said that her family are being supported by specially trained police family liaison officers. the police investigation into what happened is continuing. millions of people in the us and canada are spending

christmas in the grip of a severe winter storm. it's brought extreme frost, heavy snow and strong winds. at least 38 people have died in weather related incidents —and around 175,000 homes are without power. 0ur 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. 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 friday, saturday, and this will go down in history as the most devastating storm

in buffalo's long and 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 is 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.

finally, the severe winter storm across north america is not only affecting the human population in south florida, iguanas have been falling from trees — paralyzed because of a sharp temperature drop to 45 degrees fahrenheit — that's 7 degrees celsius. in most cases it's thought the creatures will survive the cold weather, �*defrost�*, and be on their way again once temperatures rise. here in britain, most shops are now open again, after being closed on christmas day, boxing day sales have previously been a popular date for shoppers in search of bargains. but retail experts say they're expecting shoppers to spend less this year as the cost of living crisis continues and we see a change in shopping habits. sarah montano retail expert and senior lecturer in marketing

at the university of birmingham spoke to us earlier today. we saw our lowest period of online sales over the summer. they were still higher than before the lockdown, but still dramatically down. we've seen bit of an increase in online sales in the last period, so we would expect online sales to be up again, as many people will buy online for convenience. if we look at footfall from christmas eve, actually we saw a bit of an increase in footfall, particularly around retail parks, again impacted because of the rail strikes, so somewhere that is easy for people to get to. they have done well for footfall, and we have seen an increase in customers shopping locally as well, so good news for your high street as well.

coronavirus modelling data will stop being published in earlyjanuary, the uk health security agency (ukhsa) says. statistics covering the growth rate of the virus are currently released fortnightly, but the agency says this is no longer necessary. joining me now is dr sarah pitt, virologist at the university of brighton. thank you for taking the time to talk to us. is this a good idea? what we have seen is that that it is a very unpredictable virus in terms of modelling. we know that they are a number, the reproductive number, the calculations are based on quite a lot of assumptions which are probably not valid any more. it's is to do with the way the virus spreads but also the way it interacts with us at the level of the whole population. that is to do with the level of immunity we have overall, and within the population. we know thatis and within the population. we know that is variable and we know that coronavirus immunity isn't really similar to coronavirus immunity isn't really similarto many coronavirus immunity isn't really similar to many other viruses that we would use in the model. it was

being used by public health professionals and by the government to make decisions about what we were going to do about the pandemic, and how we were going to control it. because the way that we are dealing with covid at the moment has changed a bit, well, quite a lot, the value of those models for us as a general population to look at, is probably much less now. it is a reasonable thing to do. much less now. it is a reasonable thing to tie-— much less now. it is a reasonable thin to do. ~ ., ~ ., ., ., thing to do. what kind of day two of the government _ thing to do. what kind of day two of the government be _ thing to do. what kind of day two of the government be using, - thing to do. what kind of day two of the government be using, in - thing to do. what kind of day two of the government be using, in order. thing to do. what kind of day two of. the government be using, in order to make informed decisions? it you the government be using, in order to make informed decisions? if you have s mtoms make informed decisions? if you have symptoms of— make informed decisions? if you have symptoms of covert _ make informed decisions? if you have symptoms of covert and _ make informed decisions? if you have symptoms of covert and you - make informed decisions? if you have symptoms of covert and you seek - symptoms of covert and you seek health care advice, or you go to hospital and you get tested for covid, that data will still be collected. positive covid tests will still be logged centrally through the uk health security agency. 0bviously the uk health security agency. obviously we are not regularly testing ourselves when we don't have

symptoms. it is only going to be people that have symptoms of what looks like covid and then seek medical intervention and then have a test. that will give us an indication of what is happening, it won't be giving us the full numbers of who is positive for covert at any one time. it will given in the indication of whether the numbers are going up or down. we will see people getting to hospital or, sadly dying from covid, that will still be logged and still available for people. if logged and still available for --eole. logged and still available for neale, ., ., logged and still available for --eole. ., ., , logged and still available for --eole. . ., , ., people. if the data is not there in terms of the _ people. if the data is not there in terms of the consistency - people. if the data is not there in terms of the consistency that - people. if the data is not there in terms of the consistency that we | terms of the consistency that we used to have, just knowing when we were regularly testing who had covid, who didn't, how is it then that we will be able to plan in the future for one thing is, potentially, get difficult or problematic again? it seems a lack of information and a lack of certainty for some people? iligieiiii

of information and a lack of certainty for some people? well that is true, for other _ certainty for some people? well that is true, for other infectious - is true, for other infectious diseases, we use other monitoring systems. at an individual level, if there is an outbreak of nara virus in school, or if there is flue, you look at it from the individual points of view. if you know there is narrow virus in your school, for example, you might take your own precautions about looking out for the symptoms, and then deciding not to go and visit clinically vulnerable friends and relatives in case you might have picked up the narrow virus from that outbreak. i think that is the way will be dealing with covid now, if you know someone who has tested positive and you are in close contact with them, you are in close contact with them, you will then have to make decisions about what you are going to do, look out to see whether you have covid symptoms, and be careful about how you react with other people in order to stop it spreading. while that

might not be ideal, that is something that we can all do at an individual level, to try to help stop the outbreaks getting any bigger. if the situation changes dramatically, then it would be possible to pivot back to some of the things that we were doing in the previous two years, but i think the government and the uk health security agency policy at the moment is not to do that, it is to treat this infection the way we treat other infections. 50 this infection the way we treat other infections.— this infection the way we treat other infections. so it is about livina other infections. so it is about living with _ other infections. so it is about living with the _ other infections. so it is about living with the virus? - other infections. so it is about living with the virus? yes - other infections. so it is about living with the virus? yes it. other infections. so it is aboutj living with the virus? yes it is. thank you _ living with the virus? yes it is. thank you for— living with the virus? yes it is. thank you forjoining - living with the virus? yes it is. thank you forjoining us. - the main headlines: russia's defence ministry says at least three service personnel have been killed as a result of a ukrainian drone attack on an air force base in the south of the country. china carries out one

of its biggest incursions to date in the seas and skies around taiwan. the taiwanese defence ministry says it's detected 71 aircraft and 7 warships around the island tottenham manager antonio conte said he could rest all his world cup players for their premier league match at brentford — but perhaps, unsurprisingly, he hasn't done that — choosing to start with harry kane and son heung min up front as the english top flight resumes after a six week break. spurs kick off at brentford in little over ten minutes, with england's erik dier, croatia's ivan perisic and denmark's pierre—emile hojbjerg also in the starting line up. it's one of seven games, newcastle could go second if they win at leicester, later liverpool travel to aston villa and the league leaders arsenal can open up an eight point lead over manchester city if mikel arteta's side beat west ham in the late kick off. we know the importance of starting strong again, we are playing at home.

it is a very special day in premier league history, it is a very special family day to play football. there is an incredible atmosphere and we want to make the most of it. next to cricket and an eventful first day of the first test in melbourne between australia and south africa, where the hosts are in control at the close of play. it was emotional at the mcg where tributes were paid to australia legend shane warne. this the first match played at his home ground since he died earlier this year. both sides lined up to pay tribute to warne, and it's been confirmed that the australia men's test player of the year will now be named after him, putting south africa into bat, cameron green got his maiden five wicket haul, ripping through the lower order as the tourists were bowled out for 189. in reply, david warner hit an unbeaten 32 as australia reaching 45—1 at stumps, usman khawaja the only wicket to fall. meanwhile in karachi it's the opening day of pakistan's

first test against new zealand. the hosts looking to bounce back from their series defeat to england. babar azam leading the charge, at tea pakistan are 361 for 5. the tampa bay buccaneers have kept their nfl playoff chances alive after beating arizona 19—16 in overtime. they were 10 points down in the fourth—quarter before the comeback began — sealing the win with a a0 yard field goal. tampa can now clinch the nfc south division and a postseason spot when they host the carolina panthers on new year's day. elsewhere the green bay packers kept alive their playoff hopes with a 26—20 win over the miami dolphins. but russell wilson had a day to forget as his denver broncos were embarrassed 51—14 by the los angeles rams. in the nba nikola jokic totally dominated in denver as the nuggets beat the phoenix suns 128—125 in overtime.

jokic delivered a triple double — when a player scores 10 points or more in three different scoring categories. the serbian finished with 41 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists — that's the largest christmas day triple double in nba history. the win leaves denver top of the western conference. the boston celtics are still the team to catch in the east — they beat second—placed milwaukee 139—118. england rugby league internationaljohn bateman has left the club to join wests tigers in australia's nrl. this will be bateman's second stint in australia after leaving wigan for canberra raiders in 2019 before returning home in 2021 for personal reasons. bateman helped wigan win the challenge cup this year and played in four of england's games at the rugby league world cup, including the semi final defeat to samoa. that's all the sport for now.

the united nations refugee agency says it fears that 180 rohingya refugees adrift for weeks in an unseaworthy boat in the indian ocean have probably died. it said their relatives had lost all contact with the stricken boat, which drifted in busy shipping lanes without receiving help. this news comes as another boat with a broken engine carrying rohingya refugees has reached the indonesian province of aceh. the wooden boat with 57 men on board landed on sunday morning. immigration officials described them as hungry and weak after many days at sea. mr itayi viriri is the asia & the pacific regional spokesperson for the international organisation for migration. hejoins us from bangkok this is a dreadful situation we are talking about. to have any news on whether these men may have survived? this is a very difficult situation. we have been raising the alarm the

past few weeks, saying that there are several boats out there, heading mostly for malaysia or indonesia. quite a lot of them have people who are desperate, short of food or water. we are working with 57 male refugees. as i'm speaking to you now ijy refugees. as i'm speaking to you now by colleagues in indonesia are telling me that there is another boat that has just arrived within the last 60 minutes. from what i can see this is a much larger boat, this time including women and children in poor health condition. at this stage we can confirm that this is one of the four boats that have arrived since november. this is... share

the four boats that have arrived since november. this is... are they leavina since november. this is... are they leaving from _ since november. this is... are they leaving from me — since november. this is. .. are they leaving from me or— since november. this is... are they leaving from me or the _ since november. this is... are they leaving from me or the refugee - since november. this is... are they i leaving from me or the refugee camps in bangladesh? the leaving from me or the refugee camps in bangladesh?— in bangladesh? the ones that have arrived in indonesia _ in bangladesh? the ones that have arrived in indonesia and _ in bangladesh? the ones that have arrived in indonesia and malaysia l arrived in indonesia and malaysia have come from the camps in bangladesh. this is of great concern. as you have heard from the refugee agency, there are fears that an entire boat load could be lost because the relatives have lost contact after days, in fact weeks, being stranded at sea. the? contact after days, in fact weeks, being stranded at sea.— contact after days, in fact weeks, being stranded at sea. they are not caettin an being stranded at sea. they are not getting any assistance _ being stranded at sea. they are not getting any assistance while - being stranded at sea. they are not getting any assistance while they i getting any assistance while they are at sea? they are in shipping lanes, are they getting any help or they are out there?— lanes, are they getting any help or they are out there? they are getting ve little they are out there? they are getting very little help- _ they are out there? they are getting very little help. they _ they are out there? they are getting very little help. they are _ they are out there? they are getting very little help. they are arriving - very little help. they are arriving very little help. they are arriving very weak, very hungry. in fact we had a situation last year where a boat arrived in aceh which had been

floating around at sea without much help from months. we are asking to coordinate help for safe disembarkation and that people are given safe... get the support they need. we are grateful to the authorities in indonesia who have welcomed some of these boats. we hope there is more effort from other countries in the region. find countries in the region. and obviously — countries in the region. and obviously a _ countries in the region. and obviously a huge _ countries in the region. and obviously a huge challenge getting them resettled, now they are in aceh. thank you very much for joining us, regarding that desperate situation.

tell us about her. it seems like she was such a trailblazer. i tell us about her. it seems like she was such a trailblazer.— was such a trailblazer. i was as shocked as _ was such a trailblazer. i was as shocked as anybody _ was such a trailblazer. i was as shocked as anybody was - was such a trailblazer. i was as shocked as anybody was to - was such a trailblazer. i was as | shocked as anybody was to hear was such a trailblazer. i was as - shocked as anybody was to hear the news last night. i have been in the industry myself, i have been a pro for 30 odd years. i had the pleasure of meeting herfor a for 30 odd years. i had the pleasure of meeting her for a very short period of time, five minutes. within those five minutes, it really portrayed what sort of person she was. here i am, being introduced to the most prolific female golfer of all time, and shejust humbly said,

it is a real pleasure to meet you, sarah. i thought thatjust it is a real pleasure to meet you, sarah. i thought that just shows it is a real pleasure to meet you, sarah. i thought thatjust shows the magnitude, the actual effect that she had on people she met, and the game of golf. she she had on people she met, and the game of golf-— game of golf. she started back in 1959. game of golf. she started back in 1959- what _ game of golf. she started back in 1959. what sort _ game of golf. she started back in 1959. what sort of _ game of golf. she started back in 1959. what sort of challenges - game of golf. she started back in 1959. what sort of challenges did she face along the way, and how did she face along the way, and how did she develop the game?— she develop the game? obviously, i started a little _ she develop the game? obviously, i started a little later _ she develop the game? obviously, i started a little later than _ she develop the game? obviously, i started a little later than that, - started a little later than that, but as we can see the way their women's graham is kept growing gradually, i think, for her, she was instrumental in putting the women's game on the map, in terms of her playing ability, and her personable approach which is huge. it is that combination that makes everybody want to endear themselves to the women's game, something that is really important. did

women's game, something that is really important.— really important. did she have a articular really important. did she have a particular style _ really important. did she have a particular style of _ really important. did she have a particular style of play? - really important. did she have a particular style of play? i - really important. did she have a particular style of play? i wasn't really aware _ particular style of play? i wasn't really aware of _ particular style of play? i wasn't really aware of cathy's - particular style of play? i wasn't really aware of cathy's game, i particular style of play? i wasn't. really aware of cathy's game, but particular style of play? i wasn't i really aware of cathy's game, but i think it is the natural ability that she had and her amazing approach. i remember reading that she said she wasn't out there to break records, she didn't realise how competitive she didn't realise how competitive she was as a player. it was just that natural, fun loving attitude that natural, fun loving attitude that she had, that was massive. thank you forjoining us and taking the time. as forecast, we have wintry showers across the north of the country, particularly across the highlands, settling this afternoon and into

this evening. it is also quite a cold day, a noticeable breeze out there. the wind has swung in from there. the wind has swung in from the north, north—west, and the colder air has temporarily struck bread across the country. there is a milder air in bread across the country. there is a milderair in the bread across the country. there is a milder air in the atlantic and it will be heading our way. for the rest of the day, the snow settling across the highlands. in some spots it could be as much as ten centimetres, but more typically a couple of centimetres. further south it is much too mild, but it is not particularly warm, three or it degrees in the early evening, 7 degrees in the early evening, 7 degrees on the south coast in plymouth. the snow showers continue for a time in the evening but then they fade. it will be clear across many eastern areas. there is a frost on the way but the next weather front is approaching. it is pushing on milder air across ireland, wales and the south—west of england. that weather front is going to bump into the cold air that is in place across scotland, perhaps the pennines too. that does mean that tomorrow there will be, what we call a spell of

transient snow across the highlands, grampian, perhaps a bit of snow in the pennines too, but elsewhere, it is a case of rain, milder conditions. strong winds as well, perhaps touching gale force in these western and south—western coast. this is where the rain will be in the middle of the afternoon, so south england, wales, yorkshire. clearing northern ireland, that weather front will spread further east to reach its tangy and the south—east, so i think a wet end to tuesday here. the rest of the week we will see a succession of low pressure sweeping across the uk. here is another one mid week on wednesday, where the front sweeping in from the south—west, another wet day for many of us, blustery too. the winds will strengthen to gale force around coastal areas. with that also mild conditions, 12 in london and called on the other side of the weather front. the run—up to the new year is looking very

blustery, gale is at times, rain too, and with that turbulent weather, it is going to stay relatively mild. goodbye.

this is bbc world news. the headlines: russia's defence ministry says at least three service personnel have been killed as a result of a ukrainian drone attack on an air force base in the south of the country. china carries out one of its biggest incursions to date in the seas and skies around taiwan.

the taiwanese defence ministry says it's detected 71 aircraft and seven