the us has accused iran of launching a drone attack that damaged an israeli—affiliated oil tanker off the coast of india. a fire on board the ship was extinguished and no casualties were reported. iran has denied any involvement. christmas celebrations are called off in bethlehem. the usual tree is replaced by a nativity scene in the rubble. organisers had asked their congregations to forget the customary celebrations, while still upholding the spiritual aspects of christmas. now on bbc news, the year in review. # nothing compares.

# nothing compares to you... the point at which i start crying is on the lines, "all the flowers that you planted, mama, in the backyard, all died when you went away." because as a young child, i had spent time living in the garden, only being allowed to enter the house to wash the floor every day. # these are dangerous days. # to say what you feel is to dig. # your own grave. # fight the real enemy. fight the real enemy. people say it derailed my career. but i think it re—railed my career, because i didn't want to be a pop star. # so happy christmas. # i love you, baby. # i can see... it's true i'm out of it most of the time, but i can write songs when i'm out of it. in fact, it's easier for me. # ..singing galway bay.

# and the bells are ringing out for christmas day. #je t'aime. #je t'aime, oui, je t�*aime... the vatican and the bbc banned it just because of the heavy breathing without realising the beauty of serge�*s text, which was "i love you, nor do i." # oui, je t'aime. # moi non plus. wouldn't it be wonderful if there were no more goodbyes? you're wealthy, good—looking, intelligent, charming. i should have known better than to get mixed up with someone like that. you're not making any sense. i don't have to make sense. i'm italian. dramatic aria plays. lucy!

i used to think nurses were women. i used to think police were men. i used to think poets were boring, until i became one of them. as i get older, i am positively sure i have no chips upon my shoulders. black is not the problem. mother country, get it right. and just for the record, some of my best friends are white. piano plays: where do i begin. i forgot my key. jenny, i... ..i'm sorry. don't. love means never having to say you're sorry. music continues.

yum, yum, pig's bum. that was fun. you dance like i cook. just chuck it all in and hope for the best. oh, lovely jubbly. spank me gently with a wet chamois. you went barmy! it was like you were chewing a toffee. seven! six. seven! fabulous. it was knockout. well done. hello. cheering. from len... ..a ten. marquis says he's scared the truth will get him in big trouble. chanting. bleep! shouting. know this. there's never been a moment in the 25 years of doing this show that i ever thought i was better than the people who

appear on our stage. i'm not better, only luckier. eerie music. ..shines the light of love - on the earth signs, taurus, virgo, capricorn, and a ticket bought in ealing. - the power of the pendulum spells out the names greg and judy. _ dame edna everage! hi, possums! i'm trying to be ageless and i haven't had... i've had a little work done, but... have you? not quite as much as some. laughter. hey. don't look at me when you say that. keep your eyes that way. no... the thing is, you are still recognisable. # it's my niceness. # i pride myself on my niceness. laughter. i'm so sorry... they've found me a better seat.

i've been draped. # ..my wonderful niceness with you. music: friends theme. i'm chandler. i makejokes when i'm uncomfortable. i'm not great at the advice. can i interest you in a sarcastic comment? someone at work ate my sandwich. well, what did the police say? i'm sorry. we don't have your sheep. ok, should we get some coffee? sure. where? good evening. look at this t—shirt, lil, dead common. so i wasjust having a drink and i looked over and here's ulrika walked in the door, wearing the same frock as me. i didn't know she had a littlewoods catalogue. iwas flaming. hiya. hi, paul. how are you doing? i'm all right. this little one isn't doing so well. i know.

so you look after yourselves, yeah? stay safe and well. ta—ra, everyone. iam illya kuryakin. i am also an enforcement agent. just a wave and a rare smile . were enough for the hundreds of teenage fans who found david irresistible. - take it downstairs... ..and burn it.

first tonight, the build—up in the gulf. it's the biggest single commitment of troops since the last gulf war a decade ago. the tragedy unfolding here begs the question, for how long and at what human cost can these camps be sustained? i've gone to places... it's to see life as a gift and rather than kind of worrying about when it's going to end and how it's going to end, i've got to a place where i can see it for the gift it is. applause and whistling.

i don't know, a lot of people want to be great artists. i don't know that i'm capable of being that, but i hope i entertain a few people, you know. # all my life ijust wanted to. # meet someone just like you. # someonejust like you. # don't stop moving, find your own way to it. # listen to the music... you were in what's described as a band, but it was a bit like limp bizkit. is that more your thing? a bit sort of rocky? well, it is. that is sort of... that was the background that i was coming from going into the s club thing. # no—one knowsjust what the future holds. # there ain't nothing you can't be. # there's a whole world at your feet. # mirror, mirror on the wall. # tell me, mirror, what is wrong? # can it be my de la clothes or is itjust my de la song? it was more theatrics thanjust rap and beats. it wasn't boasting rap. it was intelligent rap. it was funny rap. we brought a different

format to rap as a whole. # let me lay my hand across yours and aim. # a kiss upon your cheek. # the name's plug two... it was kind of funny when you saw people dressing the way you did. but we didn't think about the outside world. it'sjust what went on with the three of us. # spill on the bottom away. # but it's ok, huh. # it's a saturday. # saturday, it's a saturday. so why don't you try it one saturday afternoon? join me for world of sport at 12.50. i've spent over 3,760 hours in front of the camera with world of sport. that's 22 and a half solid weeks. lee. interesting. very interesting! how do you stand there one day and say, "i want to get into toilet rolls"? look at his face! you don't stand there one day and say, "how do i get into toilet rolls?" and there's francis. and trevor francis, the million pound man, puts his name on the scoresheet.

mcqueen. scotland are in front. and england are undone at the set piece. back to charlton. this could be it. it is! and that's the kind of goal that put england in the finals. charlton headed it home. i've achieved almost everything that i set out to do, but along the way i had to do it with a lot of really, really good friends. # day—o. # daylight come and we wanna go home. # day! # me say day, me say day, me say day. # me say day, me say day—o... he's the first performer to sell over a million copies of a single album. # but i'm sad to say, i'm on my way. # won't be back for many a day... i wound up on mccarthy's blacklist, being called a communist. for a long time i couldn't work

or couldn't get employed. we're here today in the name of... ..black power. yeah! black power. chanting: black power! # make it easy on yourself... we never finished a song in one day. you don't get awards for writing five songs a day. # what's it all about, alfie? # is itjust for the moment... did she speak to you afterwards? and even if she didn't, it would have been ok. all that mattered was that that record come out the way i wanted it to come out. # i say a little prayerfor you... a young woman has changed the dress ideas of the new generation _ throughout the western world — mary ouant _ # and wondering what dress to wear now...

it really was the first time that emancipation for women became possible and inevitably, one produces the sort of things that reflect the way one feels at the time. women have changed. they're much more aware of their sexuality and they want to take charge in the bedroom. # i wouldn't have to work hard. # ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum. # lord who made the lion and the lamb. # you decreed i should be what i am. # would it spoil some vast eternal plan? # if i were a wealthy man. the one hope. the only hope. music: tubular bells by mike oldfield, the exorcist. it is a film about a real

street in a real town. the exorcist. and upstairs on the third floor of this house is a real little girl who happens to be possessed by a demon. # got to get up. # got to get out. # grab the world by the throat and shout. we thank thee, o, lord... ..for bringing us safely through the night, and for the food we are about to bolt.

we met on stage and jean was in the cast. it was a sort of theatre marriage, really. did you fall in love with him immediately? no. i thought he was a perfect pest. can i ask, except for the front two rows, to stand? ok, fellas, could you stand? laughter. they are! # mull of kintyre. # oh, mist rolling infrom. # the sea. # my desire. # is always to be here. # oh, mull of kintyre. music: shaft theme. # who's a black private dick that's a sex machine. # to all the chicks? # shaft.

# damn right... # who is the man that would risk his neck. # for his brother man? # shaft... you've sometimes referred to me as something of a father figure. did i? i didn't realise that. but i want you to know if i had had a son and he had turned out like you... ..i would be very proud of him. yo, i got to cut soon. but i just want to tell you that talking to you was one of the best parts of my whole year. yeah, right. yo, can i, like, get your phone number or something? yeah. it's a book and a film, and it's five... no, six words. marjorie, are you quite well?

well, if it wasn't for the hunchback... oops! oh, i've given it away. obviously, george, i bow to the judgment of the man who got appallingly drunk at the office party, ransacked a wine bar, fell asleep in a lamb pasanda, returned to the office, photocopied his ours, threw up in his boss's filing cabinet, and then mugged a ten—year—old and attempted to ride his bmx bike to the station. the president, on a visit to the national gallery and possessing even less taste in fine art than you have in accessories, announced that he liked the painting. the french government offered it as gift to the white house, i suppose as retribution for euro disney. so here it hangs like a gym sock on a shower rod. yes. well, i'm not in any sense reprimanding you. i don't know the facts well enough. but as head of the service, i would like your assurance that he won't be putting it into practice. i certainly hope he won't be. i'm not sure that hopes are quite good enough. order! house must come to order. order! what's your question?

do you ever feel like smacking any of the politicians - because they sometimes act like unruly children? - well, i don't feel like smacking them. i feel like occasionally... and i do. ..taking them into my study to have a quiet word with. # they're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky... i'm wednesday. thank you, thing.

# the addams family. good morning, pee—wee. morning, mr breakfast. can i have some mr t cereal? 0k! i pity the poor fools who don't. # tall and tan and young and lovely. # the girl from ipanema goes walking. # and when she passes he smiles. # but she doesn't see. # she just doesn't see. # no. music: parkinson show theme. evening and welcome. on my show tonight... my guest tonight... tonight we feast... oh, my, my! it's a sort of substitute for tattoos. i'm frightened to get a tattoo. i call him golden balls, you know, now, i mean... the fact is that you're a crowd

puller and frazier�*s not. is he? why is that? well, number one, he's ugly. he has no rhythm, no footwork, no class. he cannot talk. and who told him he could sing? he cannot sing. laughter and applause. i only remember the one thing — i was attacked by a sodding emu. i'm only remembered for one thing — i was attacked by a sodding emu. # you are the sunshine of my life... good evening. this is my very first christmas message to the nation. who would be dumb enough to wear a beret with a raincoat like this? you talking about me? # i'll pack up all my things and walk away. # i don't want to hear another word. # you have to say... # i'm so excited. # and ijust can't hide it.

# i'm about to lose control and i think i like it. # i'm so excited... radford again. oh, what a goal. what a goal! and the crowd... ijust happened to tumble across a chap in essex who made full—length sheepskin coats. he had the skins in his garage and he came and measured you up and you had a proper coat to fit you. my goodness, can he move. duckham inside edge... this could be one of the tries of the season. and hines is through, hines wins it. and look at the time there. inside the world record, and jim hines takes the gold medal. #jump! an american with a very peculiar action indeed. let's see him now. his name is dick fosbury. hejumps like no other man on earth. there it is, the fosbury flip. vialli! it's 4—2, chelsea.

mark wright and liverpool look absolutely bewildered. # everybody loves you, baby. # we're all going england crazy. youngsters don't remember it too much, but their fathers tell them all about it. they said, "that is the best feeling we've ever had." and it's just a shame that just wasn't to be. # i left my heart. # in san francisco... i was playing the fairmont hotel in san francisco. my music director, ralph sharon, he said, "i think this would be a good song "for your appearance there." for your appearance there." so i had no idea it would ever become an international song. # my life. # a wreck you're making. # you know i'm yours...

if that is your opinion, you had better hide your face, indeed. your majesty has only to say... i have said! you must be hungry for something. that's true. rumble thy bellyful, spit fire! spout rain. welcome, welcome to another year at hogwarts. please. avada kedavra. # if you go down in the woods today. # you're sure of a big surprise. # if you go down in the woods today. # you'd better go in disguise. # for every bear that ever there was. # will gather there... wild laughter. # ..today�*s the day. # the teddy bears have their picnic.

# turning out and burning out. # and turning out the same. # so put me. # on a highway. # and show me a sign. # and take it to the limit. # one more time. # silver magic ships you carry. # jumpers, coke, sweet maryjane. # sugarman met a false friend. # on a lonely, dusty road.

# when your tyres are flat. # hi—ho silver lining... it's like being asked to wear a pink frock and walk on top of a bus down oxford street. it was framing me with this embarrassing pop song that wasn't me. but over the years, i've become warmed to it. # and do i love you? # my, oh, my. # river deep, mountain high. # they call it nutbush, little old town. # oh, nutbush. # nutbush city limits. i did try to leave a couple of times, and the first time was when i had the experience

of being whipped with a wire hanger. and then another time was something else. and i realised, "well, you don't go back." # simply the best. # better than all the rest. # better than anyone. # anyone i've ever met. # ooh, you're the best. good morning. christmas eve is looking pretty windy for many of us. it could cause some travel disruption actually if you are setting out through today. especially on the roads, the rail and the airports.

they could be some problems there. northern england and scotland is where we will see the biggest problems. a couple of yellow warning from the met office in force. gusts of 50—70 mph across northern and north—eastern areas of scotland but even to the pennines, the east, pretty strong crosswinds north to south. showers coming in across northern and western areas with sunny spells further south. cloudy, outbreaks of rain but also going to be really very mild. temperatures up to 13—15 across england and wales and we could see some temperature records being broken for christmas eve so one of the warmest on record. 15.5 is the current highest for england. we will keep a close eye on that this afternoon. this evening, fairly cloudy across the south. further outbreaks of rain moving in. elsewhere, clear skies. cold enough perhaps across scotland for a touch of frost on christmas day but another mild night for many of us. double figure temperatures

in the south. for christmas day, this boundary between cold air across scotland and very mild air once again across the rest of the uk. with that cold air in place, they could be some snow over higher there could be some snow over higher ground technically making it a white christmas but further south, heavy rain across south wales, south—west england in towards east anglia and the south but still very mild in southern areas. 13-14 c. 3—4c across central areas of scotland. eventually that cold air will move further southwards as we go through the night and into boxing day so you will notice those blues taking over the charts. it is going to be colder, yes, but lots of sunny weather around on boxing day. perfect if you are getting out and about for a christmas walk, walking off that christmas lunch. one or two showers which could be wintry in the far north—east of scotland, cloud across the far south and maybe some rain in the day

but temperatures will drop down for northern ireland, england and wales. a chilly day, 7—9. that's all from me. have a wonderful christmas eve. goodbye. live from london, this is bbc news. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, dismisses reports that the united states has convinced him not to expand the country's military activity in the middle east. translation: israel. is a sovereign country. our decisions are based

on our operational considerations. christmas celebrations are called off in bethlehem — the usual christmas tree is replaced by a nativity scene in the rubble. the uk home secretary james cleverly has apologised afterjoking about spiking his wife's drink with a date rape drug. and the missing carol discovered after 90 years in yorkshire. hello and welcome to bbc news. we start with the war in gaza, where israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has dismissed reports that the us had convinced israel not to expand its military activity. he was speaking during a weekly cabinet meeting. on saturday, the wall streetjournal reported that president biden