this is bbc news. i'm david willis. our top stories: brazil declares three days of national mourning following the death of pele, the footballer many consider the greatest player of all time. he won three world cups for brazil, a unique feat, and scored over a thousand goals during his career. tributes from the world's top players, politicians and pundits have flooded in, describing pele as the magician, the inspiration and the greatest player of all time! also on the program, ukrainian officials say a fresh barrage of russian missile strikes has inflicted significant damage to the national power grid. and the british fashion designer vivienne westwood, a key figure in the rebellious

punk movement of the 1970s, has died in london. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we begin with the news of the death of pele, widely regarded as the greatest person ever to play what he himself described as �*the beautiful game'. he passed away in hospital in sao paulo, surrounded by his family at the age of 82, having suffered from cancer. during his career he became the first — and so far only — player to win three world cups, and he scored more than a thousand goals. during his life, he was also a charity fundraiser and a campaigner

on several issues. joe wilson reports now on the life of a true sporting great. the greatest. it's opinion. but pele led, others stand on his shoulders. well over 1,000 goals, a career of over 20 years, three times a world cup winner. brazilian football, synonymous with flair and success, was built on pele. in 1958, pele took part in his first world cup tournament, aged just 17. he scored six goals in four matches, playing himself to the point of exhaustion. when brazil beat sweden in the final, one opponent said when he watched pele, he felt like applauding. injury limited his role in the 1962 world cup. in 1966, well, opposing teams knew they had to stop pele one way or another. four years later, in 1970 in mexico, pele was part of a brazilian team widely regarded as the best set of players ever. they won the world cup with a freedom of expression and fluency never seen before.

it was pele�*s last world cup. without him, brazil waited another 2a years before winning the trophy again. pele remained in demand — after all, he was one of the most famous names and faces in the world. he spent 18 years with one club, santos, averaging nearly a goal a game. by 1975, he was in the united states — the ultimate acquisition for a new league hungry for glamour. the league didn't last, but pele still thrilled new york. after football, he took on ambassadorial roles, commercial opportunities and, naturally, collected recognition, and pele expressed no regrets. if i have to do every single game again since i was born until now, i would do everything again. and i thank god. the popularity of football, the very idea of what makes it entertaining, began more than any other man with pele.

the government of brazil has declared three days of national mourning, and crowds have gathered outside the hospital in sao paulo where pele spent his final hours. from there, here's our correspondent katy watson. this is a moment that so many people knew was going to happen, but at the same time, dreaded, of course, it happening. and now, you can see the world's media, as well as fans who've come to pay their respects, have gathered outside the hospital where he died. even the hospital put out a statement, saying that they shared in the pain and the suffering that came with the loss of their beloved king of football. i think that just shows how important he was for so many millions of people. whether you watched him play as a young footballer or you were a younger brazilian who was told about his phenomenal skills, he united this country, and i think that's so important in a country that has been torn apart by partisan politics these last few years.

he didn't get involved in politics at the time. at times, he was criticised for not getting involved, but at the same time, that meant that he remained a universal icon for so many millions here. the president—elect, lula da silva, who takes over from sunday, he said there was no number10 shirt like him. he really was the king here in brazil. and, of course, this country is now in mourning. katy watson reporting there. several landmarks around the world are being used to pay tribute to pele. here in london, the arch at wembley stadium has been lit in the green and yellow colours of brazil. and in rio dejaneiro, the statue of christ the redeemer has also been lit in the same national colours. earlier, i caught up with south american football journalist tim vickery, and started by asking him about pele�*s funeral plans. well, remember,

we have the presidential — lula taking over as president on sunday. that's put the whole thing back a little bit. pele — his body, his coffin will be taken to the centre circle of the field at santos, where he played for so long. it'll lie there for 2h hours, starting 10am local time on monday. and after that, he'll be moved to a nearby cemetery — a vertical cemetery, hand—picked by pele because it gives a view of that stadium. and it gives us all a chance to look back on a remarkable life. interesting there how much katy was stressing "king". let's remember, this is someone who was born just 52 years after brazil abolished slavery and here he is, leaving the scene the undisputed king of the global game. what a life story. you mentioned the abolition of slavery there — quite incredible that

that had come, what, just a few decades before the first world cup victory. so, that victory, in a sense, was key, was it, to reducing racial barriers in brazil? well, certainly, it was key, i think, to having the idea of the black brazilian included in the imaginary conception of the nation. in practice, the poor are overwhelmingly the descendants of the enslaved. but brazil's world cup victories, more than anything else, were a victory for self—esteem, and this is pele�*s story. as a nine—year—old child, he's shocked to see his father in tears as his father listens on the radio to a report of brazil losing in the final of the world cup in 1950. now, the nine—year—old promises his father he's going to put things right — he's going to avenge matters. fast forward 20 years, brazil win the world cup for the third time, all three of them with pele.

that yellow shirt is established as the home of the beautiful game, where you win, you win in style and you win with a smile on your face. that's pele�*s achievement. he didn't set out with a global mission, he set out with a brazilian mission, but in consequence, he made the world cup what it is today. he transformed the world cup into this four—week period where the world downs tools and watches the football. and i think, in a way, it was so fitting that his last lucid days on this planet were spent watching the world cup, feeling the love and the respect of the footballing community who were, of course, gathered in qatar for that tournament. they all live in the house that pele built. it's astonishing to think, isn't it, tim, that he himself recalled other world cup teams of that time, back in 1958, being made up of predominantly white players? yes, although there were black players in the team as well,

including the brains of the team, didi. some criticised pele for a lack of political engagement in afro descendant causes. maybe sometimes we ask too much of our sports idols because merely by being it, by being the best, what an inspirational message that shows. it says a lot, i think, about the democratic nature of football. you don't need money, you don't need sophisticated equipment, it's open to all shapes and sizes. but also, such a competitive field as football, for pele to dominate it as he did, it really is a testament to both his extraordinary natural talent and the drive. he's motivated very strongly by both pride and fear, determined to ring out every last little drop of the natural talent that he had. and he is the measuring rod for all subsequent players, just as that brazil 1970 team have been the measuring rod

for all subsequent teams, and maybe even that world cup with those almost unearthly images from the mexican sunshine. significant, ithink, david, thatjust a few months before, we'd had the moon landing. similarly, almost surreal images. and at the time, the two achievements — man landing on the moon and brazil winning the 1970 world cup — it seemed natural to put them together. they both have an otherworldly quality about them. and pele was the leader of the pack. so, just 20 years after watching his dad in tears as a nine—year—old, he has changed football, and i think you could also argue he changed geopolitics. when one thinks of brazil, what does one think of? maybe the amazon rainforest, carnival and samba. but certainly, on the top of most people's lists would be football — that's a legacy of pele. tim vickery. the former england footballer, and now sports broadcaster gary lineker has been sharing histhoughts

on pele�*s legacy. he's unquestionably one of the greatest football players that's ever lived. and you have to be a certain age, of course. and i'm one of those people that were lucky enough to see him. my first world cup, i remember, was 1970, that brilliant brazilian side that he was the star of. and he had a profound effect on my love of football. for me, the three greats in my lifetime — there's pele, maradona and messi. it's difficult to separate them because they play in totally different eras, but all three of them do things that other players, other mere mortals of footballers can't do. and i think that's what really lifts them above all the others. well, pele is hugely significant in not only the development of football, but also in football itself and the enjoyment of football, which is the most important thing. it's an entertainment business. and he was one of

the great entertainers through his pure skill, talent and ability. he's played a huge part in football. the name pele isjust synonymous with football. pele spent most of his career playing for santos, and fans of the club have been gathering outside the stadium to pay their own tributes in the club's colours. away from football, pele also had a lasting effect on race relations in brazil, a country where just five decades before he was born, slavery was still legal. adjunior is a prominent afro—brazilian, and a tv executive with trace brazil, and i asked him about pele�*s legacy regarding race relations in brazil. for us, for black brazilians, it was the beginning of a very ambiguous situation, because for so many times, people were saying that he didn't talk about race and stuff, but he lived in a world that was very different from the world where we live today. but for us, it's a very interesting situation today

to talk about somebody that, in the late years, been talking very openly — he has been talking very openly about race, and he really is a person who led a very big amount of fans all over the country about how he represented us as a black person — even though in the beginning or years ago, he didn't talk so much about that, but in the end, he talked a lot about this. and he was very — i wouldn't say apologetical, but very aware of his legacy as a black man in the sports field and to represent society as well. i was going to say, for all his storied legacy, he has been criticised, hasn't he, for failing to denounce racism in brazil and elsewhere, in quite the way of, say, muhammad ali, for example? yes, i think we need to understand how the race relations are happening in this country, brazil.

in a country where if you would dare to speak about race relations in the �*60s and �*70s, you will be totally seen as a person who was a militant, that was very like — how can i say — a person that did not follow with the brazilian rules of being a racial democracy — that's pretty much what was inputted into his head. i believe that was pretty much the situation he lived in in that moment. but later on, he would be talking about race and i really believe that people need to see what kind of world he lived in the �*60s and in the �*70s, where black people wouldn't have been able to talk about that, in brazil mostly. and much has been made of his humble upbringing — the family were so poor, they couldn't even afford a football, i believe. yes, he comes from very humble beginnings, in the state of minas gerais, he was born in a very small city, and he came to prominence. he was born in a city called three hearts and we all say he came from a city called three hearts and he took

the whole heart of the world, being a person that is so beloved all over the country — so not only all of the country, but all over the world. so, he comes from a place of poverty and became like a prominent — and, as a black person, he was like a role model for so many other black guys or black kids that would say, "wow! "this guy was somebody who came into fame and became this big "personality and showed all over the world or put "the brazilian country in the map." adjunior. much more on our website, including a look at how the footballing world is paying tribute to pele. just log on to bbc.com/news or go via the bbc app. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: tributes from the fashion world for vivienne westwood, the pioneering british designer, who's died, aged 81.

the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland, we're gonna use money we picked up in belgium today and then, we'll be in france, and again, it'll be the same money. it's just got to be the way to go. crowd yelling george harrison, i the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed - at his oxfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool- is being interviewed by police on suspicion - of attempted murder. i think it was good. just good? no, fantastic. big ben bongs

this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: brazil has declared three days of national mourning, following the death of pele, the footballer many consider the greatest player of all time. ukraine's president zelensky says most regions in his country are without power, following a barrage of russian missile attacks. among the cities which were targeted — at least three people were injured when explosions headed to kyiv, one of the biggest environments since the war began. this report from cuba. kyiv.

0n the outskirts of kyiv, tears and anger. the front lines are far from here, but this morning war has come to them. tatiana's house was hit as russia launched another wave of air strikes. her granddaughter was in her bedroom when the attack happened and was injured. "she was very scared. "she was screaming on the phone," she said. "it's a very difficult feeling "when you're just waiting for the next attack to happen." tatiana's husband was in this room when the ceiling fell. translation: i went deaf temporarily. - everything started to crumble around me. i run outside, i run outside and find my daughter screaming. this, ukrainians say, is another proof of what they describe as russian terror. missiles and drones have brought suffering and destruction to people, no matter where they are. attacks like this are unlikely to stop, ukraine's spy chief tells me.

kyiv is now returning to normal. but people wonder when their city may be hit again. hugo bachega, bbc news, kyiv. the united nations says it is sending a top official benjamin netanyahu benjamin neta nyahu was benjamin netanyahu was once again is the prime minister of israel after the coalition of middle swan into power on thursday. it middle swan into power on thursday-— thursday. it will be the most religious and _ thursday. it will be the most religious and hard-line - religious and hard—line administration in the country's history, containing ultra nationalist and ultraorthodox parties. mr netanyahu has been criticised for his choice of allies but has promised to pursue peace and protect civil

rights. the united nations says it is sending a top official to afghanistan to try to convince the taliban to reverse its ban on women working for aid agencies. the un says that its locally—based officials have begun meeting with ministries in afghanistan to discuss the impact on aid programmes. the un humanitarian coordinator for afghanistan says the taliban's decision is already harming urgent aid programmes and that the country's humanitarian needs were probably the worst he'd seen in 30 years. let me make it very clear that united nations and humanitarian partners are very committed to the delivery of life—saving services to the people of afghanistan. it is probably the most difficult circumstances which i have seen in my 30 year career, in regard to the

humanitarian needs of the people, it is enormous and important we continue to stay and deliver. as we do so it is equally clear is important that the writes of the women and girls which we talk so much about these days are preserved and protected, and they are an important element, an undeniable element of the humanitarian action. turning now to the news of another death, this time from the world of fashion, with the celebrated english designer vivienne westwood passing away at the age of 81. she came to prominence making clothes for the punk rock movement in the late 1970s before taking her work into the mainstream. she was also a campaigner on several issues, including the environment. a spokesman said she died peacefully surrounded by herfamily in clapham in south london. steve karas is a fashion collector and archivist based in new york — he told me about his treasured collection. yes, this is all vivienne westwood. the hat is actually the first

collection she has made back in 1981 for the pirates, and this is an original, so i am very, very proud to wear that today. and you have some other interesting pieces in your collection, i believe. tell us about the boots, the naomi campbell shoes. oh, the high, elevated court shoes. the court shoes. naomi campbell fell famously in 1993 in them, and believe it or not they are here. my goodness. those are probably the shoes that i — the item i cherish the most. it is one of my recent items, and ijust... 1993, i was six years old, so i have very little memory of that, but to be able to see that now with my own eyes, and to see the pictures and all the videos i have seen over so many years, it is very special. how on earth is anybody supposed to walk on those? i don't know because as you can see the heel is not really supported, the toe is not really supported, so you are kind of like on a little stilt. i'm very impressed to see those women walking the runway like this.

i mean, it isjust incredible. i would notjoin — and i wear heels, but not those. and they tripped down naomi campbell, i believe, didn't they? they tripped down naomi campbell. i mean, to take naomi campbell down, you have to wake up early, you know? what about those... aren't they amazing. ..those iconic corsets? the corset is something i really, really like as well, and i like it because westwood, since the beginning of westwood, men's and women's in corsets, so it did not really matter the gender of the models, and that is really important to me, and i think one of the most iconic ones would be one of the wallace collection. so, those are the actual paintings that you see in the wallace collection in london, and so this is originally from 1991, and back then a woman of colour was wearing it on the runway, so also diversity, gender bending, all that made vivienne westwood so important to me. and this was somebody who morphed rather easily from ripped t—shirts and safety pins and so on to haute

couture, didn't she? yeah, from that very fancy blue to the punkish, plain galaxy print. i think she just had multiple personalities, and i think this is why i liked her. from the pirate of the �*80s, the romantic, the �*90s, very glamorous and voluptuous, presenting the woman on a pedestal, and 2000, showing a lot of body, less print, more about all the drapery, i think that vision is so famous for drapery and showing the body off. and what about her legacy? will these are designs endure, do you think? i think so. the thing that i love about westwood is that she always used the past and created something new and i think that is very smart because we all can create new ideas, but when there is a solid base, like she used a mediaeval pieces — all those gowns made of the 1600s, 1700s — there is a lead through history and by looking at her clothing we don't only see fashion

of today but we can see the history through the century and i think this will make it unforgettable for the future. i mean, when you look at now the museums they have more and more vivienne westwood clothing presented and notjust the punk era. now the corsets and gowns. everybody can see a new vision. i think he is a fan, don't you? now, not long to go before the new year, and the finishing touches are being put to the celebrations, including in new york. three, two, one. happy new year! yes, they're leaving nothing to chance in times square, this is the team which will lead the festivities, practising throwing confetti. everything seemed to go as hoped, although although the centrepiece of the event, the traditional dropping of the ball, wasn't part of this rehearsal.

more on that and the other stories featured on the website. hello there. after a day of sunshine and blustery showers on thursday, the winds are still going to be quite strong on friday. and we've got more rain heading our way as well. and that could be bringing some flooding issues in one or two places. have a look at the satellite picture from earlier on. you can see all that cloud that's been pushing in from the atlantic, thickening up, and these weather fronts, areas of low pressure, strengthening the winds and bringing rain into many western and northern parts of the uk. it's notjust rain around though, because in northern scotland, it's cold enough in the hills to find some more snow falling, could be as much as 20 centimetres, perhaps. some heavier rain briefly across northern ireland, but it could be even wetter across southern parts of scotland, a couple of inches or more of rain, and here in the south of the country, we've got this amber rain warning

from the met office. given how wet it's been recently, more rain is likely to bring some flooding and travel disruption. we've got rain notjust in scotland and northern ireland, but pushing eastwards quickly across england and wales on those stronger winds. you can see how most of that wet weather moves away for the afternoon, brightening up from the west with some sunshine, showers coming into northern ireland and southern scotland and turning drier across northern parts of the country, perhaps later as well. here, it's going to be quite chilly, 4 degrees in stornoway, 13 celsius, though, in london, another mild day for england and wales and mild again on saturday. but there is more rain at times and that rain could be a bit steadier and heavier in the south for a while. maybe some patchy rain across southern scotland and northern ireland. some sunshine further north, but a few wintry showers in the far north of the country. and again, those temperatures contrast, cold in northern scotland, very mild in east anglia in the south east, 15 degrees here. we've got more rain though to come if you are going to be out celebrating the new year, with low pressure and a number of weather fronts. and the details keep changing

as we head into new year's day, we've now got some wetter weather pushing further north across northern ireland and northwards into scotland. and again, it's going to be cold enough for some sleet and snow over the hills. for england and wales, there may be some sunshine at times, but rain is never too far away, and it could be on the heavy side. another mild day, though, across more southern parts of england and wales — temperatures 12 celsius. so fairly mild for many parts of the country over the new year. but there will be more wet weather around may turn a bit drier for the start of next week, but it may turn a little bit chillier as well.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the brazilian government has declared three days of national mourning following the death at the age of 82 of the footballer pele. he was widely considered to be the greatest player of all time, and remains the only player to have won the world cup three times. ukrainian officials say a fresh barrage of russian missile strikes has inflicted significant damage to the national power grid. dozens of missiles were fired from the air and the sea during a five—hour onslaught. at least three people were injured by explosions in the capital, kyiv. the british fashion designer dame vivienne westwood has died at the age of 81. she made a name for herself in the 1970s