this is bbc news with me, christian fraser. the headlines — at least 50 people have died in the united states and canada as a deep freeze and severe winter weather sweeps across north america. new york state's governor warns the danger is not over yet. we have been through a lot of wars together, and this blizzard is one for the ages. certainly it is the blizzard of the century. this is the scene live in downtown buffalo. we'll be bring you all the latest. 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 in northern england on christmas eve is named as 26—year—old elle edwards.

the un tells the taliban to reverse its decision on banning afghan women working for humanitarian agencies after five major organisations suspend their work in afghanistan. demonstrations in south—western iran to mark the 40th day of mourning since a nine—year—old boy was killed during anti—government protests. hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk, on pbs in the us or around the world. if you are watching in america at the moment, he will know all about the moment, he will know all about the severe weather. at least 50 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 close to impassible, preventing people from reaching friends and family. emergency services battled treacherous conditions to carry out rescues. fatalities have been confirmed across the us. one of the worst—hit areas was new york state, especially in buffalo and hamburg in erie county. snow blanketed streets, and driving was bad. and driving was banned. more than two dozen people are known to have died in the greater buffalo region. to all who've lost a loved one, and some of those folks may not even know it yet, just, you have our deepest condolences. this has been a horrible, the worst type of storm you 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. much further north, stunning ice formations appeared on lake michigan. and although the storm is starting to ease, freezing conditions are still expected for some time to come. emily unia, bbc news. let me show you some live pictures from buffalo in new york state. you can see it's looking rather great with lots of snow around. in fact around 30 or a0 feet of snow in those towns and cities around lake erie with another 8—10 inches of snow predicted today. some of the reports getting from emergency services are quite grim with cruise going car to services are quite grim with cruise going carto car services are quite grim with cruise going car to car searching for motorists and some of them found deadin motorists and some of them found dead in their vehicles and nearby snow banks. and of course in howling

winds and subzero departures. some 15,000 internalflights winds and subzero departures. some 15,000 internal flights cancelled 15, 000 internal flights cancelled over the 15,000 internal flights cancelled over the last few days and still that cold weather is going to be with us probably until the later part of the week. a little earlier, dominic well, earlier, new york state's governor, kathy hochul, york state's governor, kathy hochul, gave this update to reporters. we have been through a lot of wars together, and this blizzard is one for the ages. certainly it is the blizzard of the century. i know how hard this is. you've been doing what we've asked you to do by and large, and again the end is almost here. but let's make sure we get through the final days safely, and keep all of our first responders and the snowplow drivers and everyone else who's out there in a uniform to keep all of us safe, keep them in your prayers. thank you very much. ...the the governor of new york state there. 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 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, "would 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's 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's going to take steps necessary to him to win, whatever that victory may mean for 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.

0ur europe regional editor paul moss has been telling me about the reaction in ukraine. well, this is interesting, christian. ukraine never claims responsibility for this kind of attack, anything behind enemy lines, but they do drop hints. and, today, i think they dropped a bigger hint than ever that they may be responsible. we had a ukrainian air force spokesman, and he went on television to talk about the attack on the engels airbase, 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." now, you've got two things going on there. first, he's not saying they did it, but he is saying, "russia, you deserved it." so make of that what you will. and secondly, what he's really

interesting, the fact they were able to strike deep into russia's heartland is in itself a kind of victory. remember, this base was struck before as we heard in that steve rosenberg package. at the time of that attack, there were all these calls in russia for to improve its defences and not let something like this happen again, but what happened seems like a drone has flown about at least 600 kilometres through russian territory before say they shot it down. ukraine's in an odd position where they may want to crow about the success of this attack, but not make too much fuss about it. there is a report today from the fsb, unverified i think so far, that a number of saboteurs who were crossing over were caught. what have you heard about that? this is in a sense very similar. one was a drone operation attacking deep into russian heartland. we have had suspicions for a while that there is some kind

of unit or units operating behind enemy lines within russia and within russian—occupied ukraine. we've seen attacks on the airbase in crimea, aircraft destroyed. we've seen assassinations of a lot of officials in russian—occupied ukraine. so, it wouldn't be a surprise if commandos were operating. what the fsb, 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've distributed some pretty gruesome footage to news agencies showing some bodies covered in blood with guns. now, have to emphasise, there is absolutely no way we can be sure about this or verify it. what i would say is if it turned out there were commandos attempting to infiltrate into russia and into russian—occupied ukraine, that wouldn't be a complete surprise. 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 hospitalfrom her injuries. fiona trott reports. a young woman shot and killed whilst celebrating christmas with family and friends. elle edwards was at the lighthouse pub in wallasey village when a man opened fire at the entrance. merseyside police say they do not believe she was a target. today, around 30 relatives arrived at the scene to lay flowers. the police say what they're going through is incomprehensible. one of the cards read, "to my beautiful elle, you are the light of my life, you will never be gone, mum and dad." the killing took place at a family pub at the heart of the community. local residents have described their shock. things like this don't really happen on the wirral, so i think everyone�*s shocked.

you don't expect it on your own doorstep, you know? this pub is a nice pub. you never hear of any trouble. i've got a 21—year—old son, and, you know, it's devastating to be honest. forensic teams have been searching the area throughout the day. merseyside police are continuing to appeal for information and want to hear from anyone who may know the male driver of a dark—coloured vehicle, possibly a mercedes a—class, that was seen leaving the pub car park. four men were also injured in the attack. a 28—year—old from beachwood is in a critical condition in hospital. elle was a beautician. her colleagues have described her as "a beautiful angel". her whole life and career have been cut short, and at a time when herfamily, like many families, had come together to celebrate. fiona trott, bbc news. the acting head of the united nation's mission to afghanistan has

asked taliban leaders to reverse a decision to ban on afghan women working for humanitarian agencies. five major aid organisations are suspending their work in afghanistan following the order. islamic relief and the international rescue committee are the latest agencies to halt their activity. earlier, care, the norwegian refugee council and save the children said they "could not effectively reach afghans in desperate need" without their female staff. earlier, i spoke to jan egeland, the secretary general of the norwegian refugee council. since the announcement, the aid agency has halted all work in afghanistan. we cannot operate without our female staff. in our case in the norwegian refugee council, we have nearly 1500 staff. about one third are women, a70. we cannot operate without our committed, hard—working, professional female colleagues. they are the ones who assess needs among women and children. they are the ones who communicate

to the women, for example single—mother households and so on. so, our message back to the taliban authorities who gave us this order on christmas eve, the 2ath of december, was that we have to suspend our work. we cannot work without our female colleagues. and this is in a situation of desperate need. millions and millions need our emergency relief through this winter. well, i want to come back to that because it's an important point you make. in terms of the order that's come from the taliban, it's specific to the ngos through which the united nations works. is it about all women or is itjust local women? what sort of position does that put western women who work in afghanistan? yeah, it's women in general as far as i have... well, it's a very general order. and it was communicated

by the ministry of economy through the umbrella organisation where there are a 100 organisations, it's a large number of organisations, local afghan organisations and international ngos. they said because, they claim, there was some deviations from the strict dress code with hijab. they said, "we are now banning all, the taliban's banning, all the female work across the board by nongovernmental organisations." it's an impossible situation because we're in the coldest months of the year. we know already there is an acute food situation inside the country. for a humanitarian like you, this must be an agonising decision. it is, it is. i've been there many times to afghanistan. i see the suffering among the people, and there's been a free—fall in the economy

since the taliban took over in part because the western countries withdrew their development aid when they left with their diplomats and their military. we remained, and we have been able to reach millions and millions. and we've done that in accordance to the traditional dress code, all of the rules for separation of men and women in the workplace. we've even offered male relative guardians to our female staff according to the tradition when they travel. we've done everything according to the book, and still they come with this out of nowhere. and it's devastating. so it will be reversed, i'm sure of, but it could take time. and in the meantime, much unnecessary suffering has taken place. 0ur female staff are devastated by this. many of them are the breadwinners, not of theirfamily, but with their whole extended,

you know, relatives. and they are fearful for theirjob, theirfuture. let's get all the latest sport now with hugh ferris. a busy day. indeed, thank you very much indeed. welcome to all of you. it seems the break for the world cup hasn't stopped newcastle's premier league momentum. they're up to second in the table after beating leicester at the king power stadium. in fact, they were 3—0 up in just 32 minutes before going on to register their sixth straight win. there was a new beginning at goodison, though, wherejulen lopetegui won his first premier league match in charge of wolves thanks to a 95th—minute goal from rayan ait—nouri. the 2—1 victory takes them off the bottom of the table. we have to improve our defence, but we are happy for today because of course we can hear looking for these

three points. and then we getting them in the last minute, and it's a very positive thing for us to have confidence, to work tomorrow with our best face. but it's finished late for today. tomorrow, we are going to think manchester united, and we have not done anything yet. southampton have replaced wolves at the bottom of the premier league. their 3—1 defeat at home to brighton was in new manager nathanjones' first home league game and has them adrift by a point. liverpool resumed their bid for a top—four place with a 3—1 victory at aston villa. goals from mohamed salah and virgil van dijk saw them lead 2—0 at half—time before 0llie watkins reduced the deficit after the break. teenage substitute stefan bajcetic sealed the three points with his first goal for the club nine minutes from time. 2-0 2—0 up at the half—time and the thing _ 2—0 up at the half—time and the thing a — 2—0 up at the half—time and the thing a half was good. we could see the crowd as they are and these kind

of things— the crowd as they are and these kind of things and you have to get used to these _ of things and you have to get used to these kind of big fights again. but we _ to these kind of big fights again. but we thought we scored an exceptional third goal, which i love you so_ exceptional third goal, which i love you so much, everything about it, the past, — you so much, everything about it, the past, the control and in the back_ the past, the control and in the back pass — the past, the control and in the back pass and then the finish which is wonderful, like a christmas story if you _ is wonderful, like a christmas story if you want — is wonderful, like a christmas story if you want. yeah, really nice. leaders arsenal have just begun their match against west ham knowing a win will take them seven points clear. it is goalless at the emirates though they have had a goal chalked off due to video review intervention. the first match since being the manager of the club in 2018. earlier, spurs came from two goals down to get a 2—2 draw at brentford, and crystal palace ended the game with nine men as they lost 3—0 at home to fulham. not one home team has won so far on boxing day. england test captain ben stokes says the quality of international cricket is suffering at the hands of the packed schedule.

he's led a revolution of the longest form of the game with england's attacking, entertaining style, but did so after retiring from one—day cricket, saying it was "unsustainable" to play all three formats. stokes has also returned to the game after taking a break to focus on his mental health, which he says is benefiting the whole team and their new approach. some of that was very emotional to read, but that's what i took huge pride because it knowing i put myself out there in the public eye being in the position that i'm in and that it actually really helped quite a lot of people. and i feel as if, you know, the men... yet, men in particular because that's what the stigma is happening. the more men who can do it, great, because i think if you do you have a an awful lot of people around the world who feel and a similar situation to you and feel that they cannot and i took and feel that they cannot and i took a lot of pride in that. the denver broncos have fired their coach nathaniel hackett a day after they lost for the 11th

time during his first season in charge. the 51—1a defeat to the la rams left denver with one of the worst records in the nfl, and his departure ends the shortest head coaching reign in franchise history. hackett joined from the green bay packers, where he'd gained a good reputation after leading their offence, but couldn't manage the same at the broncos despite their high—profile trade for quarterback russell wilson. that's all the sport for now. thank you very much, we will see you a little later. here in britain, most shops have been 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. katy austin reports. in liverpool this morning, the shoppers were out and about early. i was there at half seven. have you got anything so far? yeah, i've got shoes in my car already, and then clothes.

cost of living, you know, - you've got to grab 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's 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 that they perhaps didn't sell before christmas. - 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. i think people are now looking into what they're buying a lot more than what they used to be, but we are still trading quite well. central london's oxford street filled up as the day went on. have you come out for the sales? yeah, i always come out, it's my birthday today, and i don't think it's as busy as it used to be. it used to be a lot busier before. people had a lot more bags before.

the shops have started giving sales maybe a bit earlier than usual, - but there are still quite a few discounts. - what have you found? anything good? just socks so far. a company that tracks how many people are out at shopping destinations says compared to last year when covid badly affected trading, it's an optimistic picture, numbers are up. however, footfall hasn't recovered to what it was before the pandemic. it's 30% lower than it was on boxing day 2019, so it is significantly lower. but we mustn't forget that there is a train strike. and it's also attached obviously to the cost—of—living crisis, people are a bit more cautious. after a tricky year, shops hope that big discounts can draw in much—needed customers. katy austin, bbc news. war has transformed life for millions of young ukrainians, many of whom are still living as refugees ten months after russia invaded their country. among them is teenager nika, who now lives in the uk and is coming to terms with the fact that she won't be able to return home anytime soon.

sarah rainsford has been following herjourney. nobody here understands what i experienced. i hope they never will understand what i experienced. when russia invaded her country, nika played piano to drown out the sound of the explosions. i was hearing bangs, bombs. it was quite loud. yeah, unfortunately, kharkiv is one of the most attacked cities in ukraine. we first met as her family were fleeing kharkiv. nika was leaving her city and friends behind to become a refugee. she's now at a school in england,

and we went to see how she's doing. i needed time to understand that now i'm in safe place. i don't hear alarms every hour, and i don't need to think about what if next second bomb is going to be near me. the bombing of kharkiv was intense for months. hundreds of missiles fired by russian forces who only retreated in september. we found nika's old school there, eerily empty. her teacher still comes in. but she's the only one because all lessons are online. most of nika's classmates fled, too, when war broke out here. maria is trying to stay positive it'll end soon, but that's hard. kharkiv life is still a long way from normal. i went to meet nika's grandmother,

who has no light or lift for hours a day because russian missiles are now targeting ukraine's power supply. it was nika's 16th birthday, so she called her at a school to tell her she loves and misses her and urge her to study well. it's the first time they've not celebrated together. "what have they done to us, and what for," she wants to know. and she means russia. nika's meeting new friends in england, impressing new teachers, making the most of a life she never chose, but kharkiv is never farfrom her thoughts. i want my home back. i want my previous life back, but of course i know that it's not really possible. i would like peace and calmness in ukraine, and i would like people to stop dying.

headlines coming up. you're watching bbc news. hello. a fine end to boxing day across many parts of the country, especially further east and south across the uk. wintry showers in scotland. how about the next few days? well, it is going to be very unsettled. rain and wind at times. risk of gales, in fact, in the run—up to the new year. but let's have a look at the short—term. so, through the course of this evening, lots of clear weather about, the temperatures will dip away quite sharply as well. just a few showers there still, wintry ones across scotland, but a weather system is approaching from the west. so milder conditions starting to spread into parts of wales and south—western england by the early hours of tuesday morning. but this weather system, as it sweeps across the country, in the morning, it will still

encounter the cold air in scotland and parts of northern england. so, with that clear night there and the low temperatures, as the weather front overrides that cold air, anything that falls out of the sky will be snow across the highlands, maybe for a time in the pennines, too. but to the south of that, that mild stream of that south—westerly wind, it is going to be rain, so really unpleasant around welsh coasts, south—western england through the afternoon — gusty winds, heavy rain. the last place to see the rain on tuesday will be the far south—east. this is, i think, where the rain will reach you early evening. and then out towards the west, on the other hand, it should clear up come the evening. now, here's wednesday's weather map, and the next area of low pressure sweeps in. quite a few isobars there, pressure lines, big pressure gradients. so, strong winds blowing in and, again, another dose of gale—force winds, particularly around western and maybe southern areas. a really changeable day. in the south, relatively mild, 12 degrees celsius, but further north,

the other side of the weather front, it's pretty chilly there for northern scotland and the northern isles. the low pressure still with us on thursday, quite a large area of low pressure, blustery winds. a cold front will have swept through by then, so i think slightly colder, particularly in the north. even some wintry showers around, temperatures around 6—7 degrees there for glasgow and aberdeen. in the south, might still make double figures in london and norwich. so, the run—up to the new year, new year's eve there, saturday, it stays relatively mild, but it's not going to feel like it because of all that wind, rain and risk of gales. bearthat in mind. bye— bye.

this is bbc world news. the headlines: at least 50 people have died in the us and canada as severe, freezing winter weather sweeps across north america. the region around buffalo, in upstate new york, has been worst affected. russia says at least three technical staff have been killed by falling debris following a ukrainian drone attack on an air force base in the south of the country. the woman killed in a shooting at a pub on merseyside in northern england on christmas eve has been named as 26—year—old elle edwards. police continue to search for the gunman. the united nations tells the taliban to reverse its decision on banning afghan women working for humanitarian agencies, after five major non—governmental organisations suspend their work in afghanistan.