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. the woman killed in a shooting at a pub in merseyside on christmas eve has been named as 26 year old elle edwards. at least 38 people have died in the united states and canada as deep freeze severe winter weather sweeps across north america. the un refugee agency fears 180 rohingya refugees may have died after their boat was adrift for weeks in the indian ocean. boxing day sales begin in the uk — but will shoppers be cutting back as the cost

of living crisis bites? 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 targetted 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 a ukrainian drone but that three russian

soldiers were killed. engels airbase 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 warning 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 under attack. quite a contrast to the image of military might that president putin's 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. putin is not going to back off, and nobody else is going to give him a reason to back off, and therefore he is going to take steps necessary to him to win, whatever that victory may meanfor him. but ten months after russia 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. i'm joined by our europe regional editor, paul moss. what about the ukrainian response? ukraine never claims any

responsibility but they do drop hints and they dropped a hint that they may be responsible. a ukrainian air force spokesperson went on television to talk about the attack on the air base and he said this is the result of russian aggression and he said if russia thought people deep inside the country were safe and unaffected by the war, well, they were utterly wrong. a couple of things going on, he's not saying they did it, but he is saying russia, you deserved it, make of that what you will. and secondly, what is really interesting, the fact they are able to strike deep into russia at�*s heartland is in itself a kind of victory, and remembered the base was struck before as we heard in the report. at the time of that attack there were calls in russia for it to improve its defences and not let something like this happen again but this seems like a drone has flown le 600 kilometres through

russian territory before say they shut it down —— flown about. ukraine may be want to crow about the success of the attack but not make too much fuss about it.— too much fuss about it. there is a re ort too much fuss about it. there is a report today _ too much fuss about it. there is a report today from _ too much fuss about it. there is a report today from the _ too much fuss about it. there is a report today from the fsb, - report today from the fsb, unverified so far, that a number of saboteurs who were crossing over were caught, what about that? this is very similar- _ were caught, what about that? ti 3 is very similar. one was were caught, what about that? ti 1 is very similar. one was a drone attack deep into russian heartland and we have had suspicions for a while that there is some kind of units operating behind enemy lines within russia and in russian occupied ukraine, we have seen attacks on the airbase in crimea and aircraft destroyed and we have seen assassinations of a loss of officials in russian occupied ukraine. it would not be a surprise if commandos were operating. what the russian internal security service says, they say, four saboteurs who attempted to enter the

territory were killed and it says they were carrying submachine guns, navigation equipment and improvised explosive devices. they distributed some pretty gruesome footage to news agencies are showing some body is covered in blood with guns. we have to emphasise, there is no way we can be sure about this and verify this but if it turned out they were commandos attempting to infiltrate into russia and into russian occupied ukraine, that would not be a complete surprise. ukraine are in a complete surprise. ukraine are in a difficult position because they have not claimed responsibility for any of this and when it comes to the assassination, there a good reason, assassinating officials is a crime under international law, whether you are in occupied territory or not, so no one expected them to claim responsibility. we are in a murky world that happens in no war like this. ~ , , ., this. we finished the year with president zelensky _ this. we finished the year with president zelensky in - this. we finished the year with i president zelensky in washington last week lobbying for more money, but what about the general diplomacy

around this war and people siding with the ukrainians? you around this war and people siding with the ukrainians?— around this war and people siding with the ukrainians? you have the fiuuhtin with the ukrainians? you have the fiaahtin on with the ukrainians? you have the fighting on the _ with the ukrainians? you have the fighting on the battlefront - with the ukrainians? you have the fighting on the battlefront but - fighting on the battlefront but everyone acknowledges that the battle for international support for ukraine is as important and today we saw president zelensky making a call to the indian prime minister. india has not condemned the invasion expressly and it has stayed friends with russia and india is the second biggest buyer of russian oil so russia needs india on board and india also buys a lot of weapons from russia. it would seem that president zelensky is trying to win over narendra modi, seeking the support of india, but no word from the indians as to what they make of it. another more surprising diplomatic effort, ukraine has begun moves to have russia removed from its permanent seat on the united nations security council. this may sound unlikely and most people would say it is unlikely, but they have understandable argument, they say

the soviet union broke up in 1991 and that a permanent seat on the security council, and then russia gets the seat, well, russia was only one of 15 republics in the soviet union and there were others, like ukraine, kazakhstan, azerbaijan, all of these countries, so the ukrainians have said they have begun a struggle to deprive russia of its status as a member of the un security council, and he says there will be resistance but they will not acquiesce to light and falsification. the task may be hard but nothing is impossible, he said. —— acquiesce to lies. this is a sign that they are continuing to make moves on the diplomatic frontjust as the soldiers are fighting russia on the battlefield.— on the battlefield. definitely one to watch. paul, _ on the battlefield. definitely one to watch. paul, for— on the battlefield. definitely one to watch. paul, for the _ on the battlefield. definitely one to watch. paul, for the moment, thanks forjoining us.

a woman who was shot dead at a pub in merseyside in northern england on christmas eve has been identified as elle edwards. the 26 year old was shot in the head after a gunman opened fire at the front of the pub — and later died in hospital from her injuries. mourners have been leaving tributes and flowers outside the pub. at least 38 people are now known to have died due to the severe arctic freeze that continues to affect the us and canada. one of the worst—hit areas is the city of buffalo, in new york state where the governor called the storm an epic, once in a lifetime event. emily unia has the latest. the arctic storm pummelling the us and canada caused christmas chaos for millions. thousands of flights were cancelled, and roads and railways were closed or impassible, preventing people from reaching friends and family. emergency services battled treacherous conditions to carry out rescues, and fatalities have been confirmed in numerous states.

in new york state, one of the worst—hit areas was erie county. in buffalo city, driving was banned and at least a dozen people died. to all who have lost a loved one, and some folks may not even know it yet, you have our deepest condolences. this has been horrible... the worst type of storm we can imagine, and you have my deepest condolences on behalf of the people of erie county for the loss of a loved one on christmas day. rolling blackouts left more than 1.5 million people without power on christmas day. connections are now steadily being restored. in south florida, iguanas froze and fell from trees. they won't get moving again until temperatures rise and they can thaw out. it may be a while, though — the storm is beginning to ease but freezing conditions are likely to continue for a little longer. 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 71 chinese aircraft, the majority of them fighter jets, and seven chinese warships around the island. it added that 43 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 2k 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 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. 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.

itayi viriri is the asia & the pacific regional spokesperson for the international organisation for migration. he gave us the latest on this group of refugees. we have been raising the alarm over the past few weeks, along with our sister un agencies, 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 and water. we are working with 57 male refugees. they arrived yesterday, christmas day, early morning in aceh. as i'm speaking to you now, my colleagues in indonesia are telling me that there is another boat that has just arrived within the last 60 minutes in aceh. from what i can see this is a much larger boat,

this time including women and children in very poor health condition. at this stage we can confirm that this is one of the four boats that have arrived since november. ben has all the sport. good afternoon. arsenal in action later. the early kick—off saw tottenham come from behind to draw 2—2 with brentford. vitaly janelt tapped brentford ahead before ivan toney doubled their lead from a corner. harry kane and pierre emile hojbjerg hauled spurs level midway through the second half. they stay fourth. brentford remain in ninth. we will try to continue to push ourselves and continue to improve, and it is not easy, but at the same time, i repeat, we need to have this type of performance, and we have a

good group of players that have shown me they have the ability in every moment, and also the character that they have shown me the season is a big character but the question is a big character but the question is also why we have to wait to go down before we showed character. we have to show the character from the start of the game. this have to show the character from the start of the game.— start of the game. this team have a lot of belief — start of the game. this team have a lot of belief in _ start of the game. this team have a lot of belief in ourselves _ start of the game. this team have a lot of belief in ourselves and - start of the game. this team have a lot of belief in ourselves and we - lot of belief in ourselves and we believe — lot of belief in ourselves and we believe we can beat anybody on the day and _ believe we can beat anybody on the day and we — believe we can beat anybody on the day and we know we are not the on the biggest — day and we know we are not the on the biggest budget with the most famous _ the biggest budget with the most famous players but we have a strong unit and _ famous players but we have a strong unit and a _ famous players but we have a strong unit and a strong team and we are clear— unit and a strong team and we are clear in_ unit and a strong team and we are clear in what we would like to achieve — clear in what we would like to achieve on the pitch. we try to sunpert— achieve on the pitch. we try to support each other and really try to make _ support each other and really try to make things happen and create these magic— make things happen and create these magic moments. unfortunately we could _ magic moments. unfortunately we couid go— magic moments. unfortunately we could go -- — magic moments. unfortunately we could go —— we could not get three points— could go —— we could not get three points which — could go —— we could not get three points which would have been fantastic _

these are the other matches at the moment. bottom side wolves went behind at everton before daniel podence equalised. newcastle are on course to go second. adam lallana put brighton ahead at southampton before romaine perrod's own goal. brighton have just scored a third, in fact. in scotland, hearts have confirmed that goalkeeper craig gordon will miss the rest of the season due to a broken leg. the 39—year—old was stretchered off during their 2—2 draw with dundee united on saturday. he's already undergone surgery on a double leg break — and will also miss the first of scotland's euro 2024 qualifiers against spain and cyprus as a result. australia all rounder cameron green had a boxing day to remember — taking a career best haul to bowl south africa out on the opening day of the first test in melbourne. the day was a poignant one for the sport, with the test the first at shane warne's home ground since the legendary spinner

died earlier this year. both sides came together in a moment of remembrance and it's been confirmed that the australia men's test player of the year award will now be named after him. as for the action — after inserting south africa — australia's bowlers ripped through them — with five for 27 as south africa were skittled for just 189. in reply — australia reached 45 for one with david warner unbeaten on 32 in his 100th test. a better day for the batsmen in karachi where an unbeaten century from captain babar azam and 86 from sarfraz ahmed helped pakistan to 317—5 on the first day of their first test against new zealand. 11—4 shot brave mans game won the prestigious king george vi chase at kempton park. he was pushed all the way by l'homme presse — who unseated theirjockey at the last fence. that enabled brave mans game to coast to a 1k length win ahead of royale pageye and frodon. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour.

thanks forjoining us. it is a 100 days since anti—government protests began in iran. thousands have been arrested, and according to the human rights activists' news agency, at least 500 people have been killed since protests started in september. two young people have been executed and many more are reportedly on death row, or facing what amnesty international describes as "sham trials". parham ghobadi reports. a grieving mother in iran. security forces killed her 20—year—old son, he was shot at close range, one on his waist and then on the forehead. she says she will not keep quiet even if she gets arrested or killed. he was one of more than 500 protesters who, according to rights groups, have been killed. 100 days on, and despite the deadly

crackdown, protesters are still on the streets, chanting slogans against the regime and executions. the position of the state has hardened. and two young protesters were hanged after being sentenced to death. it is feared at least 26 others could face the same fate. bbc persian has obtained an audio file of a 26—year—old protester who is on death row. he says he has been subjected to three mock executions. translation: they blindfolded me and said it's time for your execution. - let's go. as i entered the prosecutors office, he said that execution is written all over his face. hang him! bbc persian has also learned of another 23—year—old protester who died in police custody in the south—western town of izeh. his name was hamed salahshoor.

at night, the authorities buried his body 30 kilometres away from his hometown, but after exhuming his body, his family discovered signs of torture. translation: his face was totally smashed. i his eyes, eyebrows, jaw, nose, cheeks, his mum fainted when she saw him. to this day, she is still not feeling well. as they exhume the body, his torso, from his neck to his naval and over his kidneys had been sewn up. in addition to these testimonies, more accounts of torture and killings are emerging as the authorities increase their determination to put an end to the protests. and for iranians protesting against the islamic republic, the crackdown and separation have

only added fuel to the fire. boxing day sales are underway in high streets and shopping centres across the uk. but shoppers are expected to spend less this year as households are squeezed by the high cost of living. katy austin reports. in liverpool this morning, the shoppers were out and about early. i was there at half seven. and have you got anything so far? yeah, i've got shoes in my car already, and then clothes. get some dinner, start shopping. that's about it today. cost of living, you know, - you've got to have a bargain. these days, not all retailers open on boxing day. some started their sales well before christmas, and more and more customers choose to buy online. but for this big shopping centre in liverpool, it is still a crucial week. it's very important

for retailers and ourselves. boxing day gives the retailers the chance to clear some of that stock they perhaps didn't sell before christmas. it gets the price reduced, it makes it much better for the customer. boxing day is actually one of the quieter days of the week. it builds up throughout this week into some quite extraordinary numbers. cost of living pressures are expected to put a dampener on spending this year, but the manager of this store is optimistic. everyone is being a bit more savvy with their money. i think people are now looking into what they are buying a lot more than they used to be, but we are still trading quite well as a lot of retailers. you look around the high street, you still see a large amount of people around spending money as well. the company that tracks how many people are out in shopping areas thinks footfall will be lower than pre—pandemic levels, but better than last year. january, february, march — the first quarter of 2023 is going to be quite tricky for a lot of people, but i think this first christmas post—covid people are making the best of it and will be making the most of that

sale period as well. those planning to travel to the shops or anywhere else in person will find the few trains which normally run on boxing day are going nowhere, as rmt members at network rail continue strike action. all around the world — millions of people have been — or are still — celebrating christmas. it's usually a time for family, friends and maybe a little excess. but for some this is proving to be a difficult festive period — as the bbc�*s tim allman explains. singing here in in kyiv, not for the first time, the sound of song rings out in the middle of an air—raid alert. in one of the cities underground railway stations, a carol service is under way. a celebration of the season but also a moment of defiance.

translation: it was really hard. at first because it seemed strange to celebrate the holiday, but if you perceive it as a carol for victory, a carol of wishes to the warrioirs, then it is normal. everything falls into place. no threat of war in rome but there are still plenty who are desperate and in need. this christmas dinner held annually at the church of santa maria is laid on for the poor of the parish. translation: we are all gathered here in harmony and peace - with ourselves and others. it is a beautiful initiative and has existed for a0 years and thank goodness it exists. help can take many forms and in the capital of kosovo it looks a bit like this. hundreds and hundreds of father christmases running through the city to raise money for charity.

this year it's an edition of santa running. for this organised santa run we will have around 200 families in need and many, many people who are in need of food or something. christmas is a time for giving and plenty of dressing up. tim allman, bbc news. the most succesful female golfer of all time kathy whitworth has died at the age of 83. she won a record 88 professional titles, including six majors in a career which started in 1959. whitworth was also the first woman to earn a million dollars on the lpga tour. she died suddenly on christmas eve. a reminder of our top story... 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 was targetted by ukrainian drones during the night. russia says it shot down the drones,

but that three of its servicemen were killed by falling debris. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @cfraserbbc hello. we have wintry showers across the north of the country today, particularly across the highlands, settling through this afternoon and into this evening. it is also quite a cold day, a noticeable breeze out there. the wind has swung in from the north, north—west, and the colder air has temporarily spread across the country. there is a milder air in the atlantic and it is heading our way. for the rest of today the snow settling across the highlands and in some spots, it could be up 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 four degrees come the early evening. seven degrees on the south

coast in plymouth. that is 6pm on boxing day. snow showers continue for some time in the evening but then they will 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 in milder air across ireland, wales, 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. it does mean that tomorrow there will be what we call a spell of transient snow across the highlands, grampian, perhaps a bit of snow mixing in the pennines too, but elsewhere it is a case of rain, milder conditions. strong winds as well, perhaps touching gale force around these western and south western coast. this is where the rain will be in the middle of the afternoon, south—western england, wales, through yorkshire, actually clearing northern ireland, and then through the evening, that weather front will spread further east to reach east anglia and the south—east, so i think a wet end to tuesday here.

the rest of the week will see a succession of low pressure sweeping across the uk. here is another one mid—week, on wednesday, a weather front sweeping in from the south—west, another wet day for many of us, blustery too. the winds will strengthen, certainly to gale force around coastal areas. with that, mild conditions, 12 in london, a little colder on the other side of the weather front in northern scotland. the run—up to the new year is looking very blustery, gales at times, rain too, and with that turbulent weather, it is going to stay relatively mild. goodbye.

this is bbc 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. the woman killed in a shooting at a pub in merseyside on christmas eve has been named as 26—year—old elle edwards. millions of people in the us and canada are spending the festive season in the grip of a severe winter storm. at least 50 people are known to have died. 175,000 homes are without power. 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.