this is bbc world news. the headlines... 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 ellie edwards. at least 50 people have died in the united states and canada as deep freeze severe winter weather sweeps across north america. the united nations tells the taliban to reverse its decision on banning afghan women working for humanitarian agencies, after five major organisations suspend their work in afghanistan. and demonstrations have been taking place in south—western iran

to mark the 40th day of mourning since a nine—year—old boy was killed during anti—government protests. you're watching bbc news. now it's time for sportsday. hello. thanks forjoining us for this boxing day sportsday. i'm ben croucher. these are your headlines. welcome back, premier league. well, maybe not the return that spurs wanted, but they salvage a point at brentford. no stopping newcastle — powering past leicester and up to second — the news from today's seven games on the way. and boxing day horse racing is a brave man's game as the 11—4 shot battles to victory in the king george.

it's been 43 days, but the wait is over. the premier league is back. seven games on boxing day, a new team in second, and at the bottom. it all kicked off at lunchtime at the brentford community stadium. a cracking game it was, too. brentford were on course for a fine victory against tottenham, only for the visitors to salvage a point, on a poignant day for english football. patrick gearey reports. applause it began with goodbye. a poignant farewell to george cohen, forever and english world cup winner. the events of the most recent tournament will still tax many bodies and minds, but not noticeably brentford's. well rested and well

1-0. brentford's. well rested and well 1—0. tomlin�*s slow start became a tradition. epitomised by eric dyer�*s appearance. ivan toney would store from it. simple and brutal. dyer�*s own world cup was less eventful than harry kane's. he was taunted for his miss him, and the start of a fight back —— dier. tottenham are good in a crisis, six minutes later they got the ball to level the match. momentum might have cover carried them further still. both sides finished with relief and regret. premier league football is back. patrick geary, bbc news. so, the world cup seems to have done little to alleviate spurs�* patchy premier league form, manager antonio conte frustrated at their slow start. 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 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 team have a lot of belief in ourselves and we believe we can beat anybody on the day and we know we are not the on the biggest budget with the most famous players, but we have a strong unit and a strong team and we are clear in what we would like to achieve on the pitch. we try to support each other and really try to make things happen and create these magic moments.

unfortunately, we could go, we could not get three points which would have been fantastic. newcastle united won five in a row before the world cup intervened, but they carried on where they left off, thrashing leicester city 3—0 to move up to second. chris wood fired newcastle ahead from the penalty spot afterjoe linton was fouled by daniel amartey. miguel almiron waltzed past the leicester defence five minutes later to make it, too, and the game was barely an hour old before joe linton headed in the third. eddie howe�*s side four points off the top, having played two games more than leaders arsenal. —— halfan —— half an hour. i think the difficult score line from — i think the difficult score line from our— i think the difficult score line from our perspective. - i think the difficult score line from our perspective. i- i think the difficult score line from our perspective. i was. i think the difficult score line - from our perspective. i was keen to id from our perspective. i was keen to go on _ from our perspective. i was keen to go on and _ from our perspective. i was keen to go on and control_ from our perspective. i was keen to go on and control the _ from our perspective. i was keen to go on and control the game - from our perspective. i was keen to go on and control the game more . from our perspective. i was keen to. go on and control the game more than we did _ go on and control the game more than we did in_ go on and control the game more than we did in the _ go on and control the game more than we did in the second _ go on and control the game more than we did in the second half. _ go on and control the game more than we did in the second half. credit - go on and control the game more than we did in the second half. credit to- we did in the second half. credit to leicester— we did in the second half. credit to leicester where _ we did in the second half. credit to leicester where they made - we did in the second half. credit to leicester where they made tacticali leicester where they made tactical changes— leicester where they made tactical changes and — leicester where they made tactical changes and had _ leicester where they made tactical changes and had more _ leicester where they made tactical changes and had more of- leicester where they made tactical changes and had more of the - leicester where they made tactical changes and had more of the ball. | leicester where they made tacticali changes and had more of the ball. i do thihk_ changes and had more of the ball. i do think we — changes and had more of the ball. i do think we minimised _ changes and had more of the ball. i do think we minimised throughout. | do think we minimised throughout. credit— do think we minimised throughout. credit to _ do think we minimised throughout. credit to the — do think we minimised throughout. credit to the whole _ do think we minimised throughout. credit to the whole team _ do think we minimised throughout. credit to the whole team for- do think we minimised throughout. credit to the whole team for that l credit to the whole team for that staying _ credit to the whole team for that staying informed. _ at the other end of the table, wolves managerjulen lopetegui

began life in the premier league in dramatic fashion. a late, late winner earned them the three points against everton at goodison park. dan ogunshakin watched this one. football's return to goodison park began with a poignant nod to the past. in the present, the focus is very much on frank lampard's immediate future. forjulien lopetegui, a win on his premier league debut, would be the ideal christmas present. six minutes in and the wolves defence was bearing gifts. yerry mina on his return to the side bringing good cheer to the everton faithful. the goodison goodwill was short—lived. neves to moutinho to podence and 1—1. a goal made in portugal for their spanish manager. clean sheets have been rare for everton this season. goals, too. anthony gordon guilty of poor finishing on this occasion. if the first half promised plenty, the second half largely failed to deliver, but there was to be a sting in the tail. wolves with their first goal after 56 minutes all season — definitely one worth waiting for.

boos for lampard at full—time as everton�*s woes continue. the last laugh for lopetgui as wolves can start to look up. dan ogunshakin, bbc news. probably showing us the reality of where we are at, generally. i still think we remained in control. it's like a punch again thought blue we have to improve our again thought blue we have to improve ou— again thought blue we have to imroveou . , , , improve our defence, but because of... we got there in the last minute, but at least _ we got there in the last minute, but at least it's — we got there in the last minute, but at least it's a positive for us to have _ at least it's a positive for us to have confidence to work with her best face — have confidence to work with her best face tomorrow. but it's

finished _ best face tomorrow. but it's finished. it's only for today. tomorrow, manchester united, we have not done _ tomorrow, manchester united, we have not done anything yet. two red cards did little for crystal palace as all the three o'clock kick—offs as all the three o'clock kick—offs nded in away wins. fulham boss marco silva described their 3—0 win at selhurst park as a great team performance. alexsandr mitrovic set one up and scored one. they sit eighth. brighton put three past southampton, too. 3—1 it finished at st mary's in nathan jones' first home game as saints boss. confirmation of the results there. into the second half at villa park, where liverpool lead aston villa. mohamad salah finishing off a fine move on five minutes. virgil van dijk grabbed the second. later, arsenal can extend their lead at the top at home to west ham united. in the championship, sheffield united moved level on points with leaders burnley after a 3—1 win at home to coventry. blackburn lost ground after ellis sims�*s stoppage time winner gave sunderland a 2—1 win at the stadium of light.

blackburn bossjon dahl thommason said the manner of the defeat hurt. fourth placed watford also slipped up at home to millwall. there was a much needed win at the bottom of the table for huddersfield. their 2—1 win at preston moves them to within five points of safety. in the evening game, it's cardiff x qpr x. fifth placed norwich are at luton. that's a 7:45 kick—off. that's the football taken care of. plenty of cricket happening on boxing day. cameron green took a career best 5 for 27 as australia took control of the boxing day test on the opening day. they closed on 45 for i having bowled south africa out for 189. babar azam's unbeaten 161 put pakistan in the ascendancy on the first day of the first test against new zealand. the home side closed on 317 for 5 in karachi. in australia's big bash, england internationaljames vince

struck 33 to help the sydney sixers to a seven—wicket victory over melbourne stars. two wins from four games now for the sixers. we'll stay with cricket because radio 4's today programme has a series of guest editors over the course of the festive period. it all started today — quite literally — with lord ian botham. the former england all—rounder was joined by the current test captain ben stokes. they discussed a number of issues including stokes' recent return from a break for his mental health. they also discussed england's recent revival in test cricket and whether the format can survive with the increase of one day and t20 competitions around the world. i think there's far too much white wall, not enough red ball, and i think it's ludicrous to have games in april, early april, until the end of april. i think the balance needs to be addressed. for my money, every

player that plays cricket should nowadays want to play for england. i think it suddenly has become very attractive again through what these boys have achieve. i think that everybody who comes into the game now should be wanting to play for england test cricket. look, if we lose red ball cricket, cricket as we know it is finished. high drama in the united rugby championship today as cardiff scored a last—minute try to beat dragons. replacement prop corey domachowski was the hero for the visitors at rodney parade, sealing the victory to accompany two tries from tomos williams. the defeat is dragons 15th in a row in the fixture. the defeat is dragons�*15th in a row in the fixture. two other games on boxing day. ospreys v scarlets is into the second half. currently 22—14 to ospreys. later, munster host champions and leaders leinster. and tributes are being paid

to kathy whitworth, the professional golfer with the most trophies, who died over the weekend. the american won 88 titles on the lpga tour — that's six more than anyone else in both the men's and women's game. she also won six majors and was the female golfer to earn $1 million. boxing day in horse racing always means the king george the sixth chase at kempton park, this year won by the 11—4 shot bravemansgame. neck and neck with l'homme presse until they unseated theirjockey at the last, bravemansgame ended up cruising to a 14—length win to give trainer paul nicholls a 13th win in the race. royale paeeye finished second ahead of former winner frodon. royale pageye finished second ahead of former winner frodon. it was an action—packed start to the sydney to hobart yacht race in australia with several boats almost colliding in the opening stages. the 109—boat fleet took off for the 628—nautical mile journey in the early hours our time — they're expected to finish on new year's eve. four super maxis — the fastest boats in the contest — saw close calls at the start —

with andoo comanche currently out in front. just to update you from the premier league, liverpool still leading by two goals to zero into the second half and that one. later on, arsenal can extend their lead at home to west ham. for me in the team, thanks for watching. west ham. for me in the team, thanks forwatching. bye—bye. hello and welcome to this very special edition of the show, coming to you from the spectacular valley of the kings here in luxor in egypt. if you were watching last week, you'd have seen me unearthing the story of how tutankhamun's tomb was discovered here 100 well, it's such a breathtaking location that we thought we'd stick around for a while to bring you this — our best bits of 2022.

well, from the baking sun of here in egypt, let's switch to the snow of switzerland where, back in march, carmen got to experience a horse race like no other — where the jockeys don't need saddles. they use skis. this is st moritz in the swiss alps. it's the place, so they say, where the concept of the winter holiday was born. it also occupies a unique place in sporting history. it's where the bobsleigh was created, but skijoring is an even stranger sporting event than that.

the race is a wild mix of horses, skiing, all done over this frozen lake. before the main event, i caught up with valeria, who's been crowned overall winner here twice in past years. before the first race, i always said, "why am i doing this?" and after the race, i said, "yeah, i know why!" 2009, i was the first woman to do skijoring. it was really special because everyone was looking at me, "can she do that? "is she strong enough? "is she not scared and everything?" but it was really nice because i had a third place in my first race. can you control the horse with the reins, and how different is it for the horse? we definitely can control them. we have to control them because if there is something next to you, you have to go left or you have to go right. you have to stop the horse if something happened.

after the start, they normally say, "ok, where is my boss?