towards its tipping point — where plant and animal life can no longer recover. and cameras follow king charles for a bbc documentary — broadcast on tuesday. we have a special preview coming up. today, it's the uk's boxing day sales. so will it be mile—long queues and chaos at the tills? we take a look. hello, i'm catherine byaruhanga. us armed forces have carried out air strikes in iraq against what it called �*iranian—sponsored militias. the pentagon says it's in response to an attack on the erbil airbase that injured

three us military personnel — one of them critically. pictures of the attack have been posted on social media — the bbc has not yet verified these videos. in a statement — us defence secretary lloyd austin said that military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on kataib hezbollah and affiliated groups in iraq. he added, "we are committed and fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and ourfacilities." live now tojerusalem and our correspondent shaimaa khalil. thank you forjoining us on the programme. what more do we know about this us air in northern iraq? we know that this is the latest in what has been an escalation in strikes and targeting of us

facilities, both in iraq and in syria. this time, it was the erbil air base which resulted in three injuries of us military personnel, one of them seriously. the statement that you mentioned from lloyd austin, the defence secretary, saying that the us will respond and protect its facilities. it is very interesting, i think, protect its facilities. it is very interesting, ithink, the protect its facilities. it is very interesting, i think, the language that the defence secretary is using, the fact that he is making it very clear that the us will have to respond to any strikes against it from what they describe as iranians affiliated militias, specifically mentioning hezbollah and kataib hezbollah and other militias on the ground and i also think that this shows the difficult position that the us finds itself in because on one hand, they have to respond. on another hand, they need to contain the fallout from the war on gaza. so, at a time where the united states, israel's closest ally, have

repeatedly asked the netanyahu government to scale down to make sure that as the military operation continues in gaza are that the safety of civilians is ensured and we have heard benjamin netanyahu say that he is going deeper, it is going to last for a long time, you are getting a fall out from areas that are already very volatile in the rest of the region. so, it is also about trying to contain, trying to make sure that the fallout, that the resulting anger and intensity of fighting that is happening in gaza doesn't spill over into other areas, which it already is. so, control and containment is where the us finds itself as the war in gaza continues. just remind us how much pressure there is, not only on us interests in the middle east, but also commercial shipping following hamas�* attack on israel on october the 7th and the israeli response. yes.

and the israeli response. yes, ou're and the israeli response. yes, you're absolutely _ and the israeli response. yes, you're absolutely right - and the israeli response. yes, you're absolutely right and - and the israeli response. was you're absolutely right and this last week, we have getting repeated reports of more attacks on shipping or targeting shipping by the houthis in the red sea and again, it is another fault line, in the red sea and again, it is anotherfault line, if in the red sea and again, it is another fault line, if you will, in the red sea and again, it is anotherfault line, if you will, of what is happening in gaza and how it is affecting the shipping industry and shipping in the red sea, a crucial avenue for international trade, really. that is having a detrimental effect, that is of huge concern for the shipping industry and for big companies. we have seen bp, for example, suspending its operations in the red sea. so, i think the pressure is happening on the ground in gaza, but the fallout is also happening elsewhere and i think, you know, don't forget as well that israel's borders in the north are active and quite tense. we have heard from the israeli defence minister who was on the board is

visiting the troops there in the north and he said that the troops there are receiving fire from hezbollah across the border and they are responding very heavily, they say they are hitting hezbollah hard and they are targeting infrastructure. that is very, very sensitive. up until now, it has been going on but it has been controlled. i think the us and other allies are looking at this with quite a bit of concern about whether or not it has the chance of escalating because no one wants to see an expansion of the military campaign of the war in israel's northern borders. thank ou. an israel's northern borders. thank you. an important _ israel's northern borders. thank you. an important question - israel's northern borders. thank you. an important question is. israel's northern borders. thank- you. an important question is raised as to whether this could see an escalation in the conflict there in the middle east. to answer this... live now to shahin modarres, director of the iran desk at itss verona and independent think tank. he's in rome. thank you so much forjoining us on

the programme. that question there that our correspondence raised at the end of her answer there, questions about whether this could see an escalation in what is a tense and volatile region.— and volatile region. hello catherine. _ and volatile region. hello catherine, good - and volatile region. hello| catherine, good morning, and volatile region. hello - catherine, good morning, thank and volatile region. hello _ catherine, good morning, thank you for having me. firstly, it is true, it is possible that the war breaks out somehow from the region. it is most important to understand the idiosyncrasy... what we are most important to understand the idiosyncrasy. .. what we are facing today are a series of proxy and satellite groups that we have. the fact is, after the 1979 revolution, and the lack of r and d and sanctions regimes, the islamic republic international community is somehow came to an alternative way of using and creating those proxy groups and ballistic missiles as a part of a programme that it can raise the tensions in the region so they can use the same tensions later

is leveraged against the international community in order to make them pay or in order to make them somehow agree and come to agreements with the islamic republic. it is quite probable now that if the united states tries to raise the level of terrorist against the proxy groups of the islamic republic, it is quite possible that the war between israel and hamas might break out and be wider in the region. i think that is the first reason why the us has been so cautious regarding increasing the level against islamic republic and its proxy groups. however, the cff coalition can be quite useful in the red sea region as we already that the eisenhower and navies being sent to the region somehow created some sort of deterrence. i to the region somehow created some sort of deterrence.— sort of deterrence. i think it is important _ sort of deterrence. i think it is important to _ sort of deterrence. i think it is important to mention - sort of deterrence. i think it is important to mention that - sort of deterrence. i think it is important to mention that the j sort of deterrence. i think it is i important to mention that the us sort of deterrence. i think it is - important to mention that the us and iranian officials have both said that they don't want to see any kind of escalation, they don't want to see the situation get out of hand.

it is what they claim but the truth is, the islamic republic somehow its being a satellite state itself are russia because if you look at both wars that happened and both levels of increased tensions that happens, within the past few months, you can see that the main country benefiting from this is russia because first of all, the price of oil is rising, thatis all, the price of oil is rising, that is what russia needs in order to provide for the war against ukraine. the second thing is the media man, the mass media, is somehow covering and changing focus to cover the news from israel and hamas from the red sea. we can again see that the tension and focus on russia has been losing colour and finally, the united states has been made somehow to divide forces between the red sea, mediterranean sea and the focus it already had on aiding ukraine both militarily and humanitarian louis is somehow decreasing and we can also see that congress members more prone somehow to help israel and taiwan than to

help ukraine. so, the real winner of the existing conflicts that somehow were triggered by the islamic republic of iran both between israel and gaza and both arming the houthis in yemen and the red sea has been russia and somehow the islamic republic has been playing as a satellite state in favour of russia. thank you very much. thank you for joining us. the un's humanitarian agency says a hospital in gaza has been overwhelmed by victims of an israeli air strike on sunday night. survivors of the attack were taken to the al—aqsa hospital. hamas health officials say 70 people were killed. yesterday, israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, vowed to intensify the fight against hamas. this report from meghan owen.

there's a constant stream of casualties entering the al—aqsa hospital in gaza. with no fuel, no water and minimal supplies, it's overloaded. ijust left the resuscitation room where a nine—year—old boy named ahmed was being treated basically with sedation to ease his suffering as he dies. he was crossing the street in front of the shelter where his family is staying, when the building beside him blew up. we're seeing kids like ahmed dying unnecessarily because of bombing and fighting and because the health system doesn't have the capacity to even come close to managing these kinds of complex cases. aid agencies in gaza have reiterated their fears for civilian safety, after hundreds were killed in major strikes over the weekend. following reports of one attack on al—maghazi refugee camp, the israeli military told the bbc that it's committed

to taking feasible steps to minimise harm to civilians. but the war is not close to being over. benjamin netanyahu has vowed to intensify the fight against hamas. after visiting troops on the ground in gaza, he faced the families of hostages heckling their prime minister at the israeli parliament, with demands for the immediate release of their loved ones. his answer? translation: we won't succeed at releasing all the hostages - without military pressure, operational pressure, political pressure. and that is why there's one thing that we will not do — we will not stop fighting. but at a time when so many around the world are celebrating as the year draws to a close, there's no sign of such respite for the people of gaza — or those trying desperately to save them. meghan owen, bbc news.

we wa nt we want to show these live pictures from northern gaza. this is the view looking out from southern israel and you can see there, smoke billowing into the skies, we think from a recent air strike and obviously this comes as the israeli prime minister has said that the israeli military will intensify its actions... we can hear that loud bang there. so, those are military activities there in northern gaza. to get more on the humanitarian situation in the territory... live now to william bell, head of middle east policy, christian aid. he's in west yorkshire in northern england. but he is working in organisations with the territory to provide aid to people there. what are you hearing from the organisations you are working with in gaza?- from the organisations you are working with in gaza? they are completely _ working with in gaza? they are completely terrified _ working with in gaza? they are completely terrified and - working with in gaza? they are completely terrified and i - working with in gaza? they are completely terrified and i am l working with in gaza? they are - completely terrified and i am afraid those words from benjamin netanyahu

yesterday have only intensified that fear. this is a population that is by and large almost completely displaced and many of them have been displaced and many of them have been displaced many times over. the people, when we managed to speak to them and the organisations that we are supporting, with blankets, medical relief, emergency food and water and sanitation, they are at their wits end and they themselves are terrified, obviously, but you are terrified, obviously, but you are dealing now with the population suffering from severe malnutrition and increasingly a number of diseases such as hepatitis, colour and skin diseases. so, we are hearing despair, you are hearing in people's voices real fear and genuine concern as to whether they, their families will make it through to the next day and they are obviously also terrified at what their future will bring because so much of gaza has been destroyed. over 50,000 homes have been destroyed, so much civilian architecture has been destroyed,

schools, roads etc. this is a society that is now not even on its knees, it is a lying prostate on the floor, absolutely in agony —— prostrate. that is why our son so many other in the humanitarian sector believe that a ceasefire is absolutely imperative to be able to support that population. mr absolutely imperative to be able to support that population.— absolutely imperative to be able to support that population. mr bell, we saw the passing _ support that population. mr bell, we saw the passing of _ support that population. mr bell, we saw the passing of a _ support that population. mr bell, we saw the passing of a un _ support that population. mr bell, we saw the passing of a un security - saw the passing of a un security council resolution recently which called for more aid to be brought into gaza, have you seen any result from that? ~ ., into gaza, have you seen any result from that?— from that? well, nothing like a sufficient amount. _ from that? well, nothing like a sufficient amount. obviously, i from that? well, nothing like a i sufficient amount. obviously, that is in some ways welcome, but it falls so far short of what is required and even if more aid does get in, which as i said, people will be relieved about, the scale of need means you will have seen the pictures of people who have raided trucks when they have come in because they are literally desperate. they are starving. they are trying to find blankets, food, medicine, waterfor theirfamilies

and if the aid does get in, then it is the problem of distribution. so many people are stuck in shelters or on the move but they are unable to access or even know where the aid is actually being distributed from. so, it is one thing to get a bit more in, it is not nearly enough, but it is quite another to actually be able to coordinate and distribute that aid which clearly at the moment is not happening in any wear like an adequate way. not happening in any wear like an adequate way-— not happening in any wear like an adeauate wa . ., ~ ,, , . adequate way. thank you very much, william itell— adequate way. thank you very much, william bell head _ adequate way. thank you very much, william bell head of _ adequate way. thank you very much, william bell head of middle - adequate way. thank you very much, william bell head of middle east - william bell head of middle east policy at christian aid, thank you forjoining us. a ukrainian missile strike has damaged a russian warship in the black sea. the novocherkassk was hit during an attack on the port of feodosiya in russian—occupied crimea overnight. ukraine says it destroyed the vessel. local officials say at least one person was killed. here is this report from james waterhouse. ukraine has done this before.

it took out a major russian warship called the moskva last year, a missile strike. and overnight, it seems that a russian landing vessel has been targeted, too, through an air strike. we have had ukraine make that claim and it has subsequently been confirmed by the kremlin. the landing ship was in the port town of feodosiya, but we don't know what the military significance of that might be yet. i think russia's naval dominance, certainly round the crimean peninsula, an area it has occupied since 2014, as well as the neighbouring black sea. russia's dominance has been slightly weakened over the past few months, when we have seen successful ukrainian missile strikes, but whether this alters the overall course of the battle in the near term, i think that is less likely because in this part of the world, on the north—eastern and eastern front lines, it is russia mounting attack after attack. we have seen russian forces claiming to have taken the city of marinka in the east, which like so many places has

been reduced to rubble. ukraine dispute that but i think what that shows is the direction of the tide here, where it is russia, for now, mounting attack after attack and it is not ukraine realising its ambition of liberating all of its territory. james waterhouse there. the russian opposition leader alexi navalny has been transferred to a penal colony north of the arctic circle. navalny posted an update on x — former known as twitter — after disappearing for more than two weeks. he said he had seen his lawyer and was in good spirits. navalny is considered one of vladimir putin's leading critics has been imprisoned since 2021 after surviving an attempt to assassinate him by poisoning. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's ta ke

let's take a look at some of the other stories today. homelessness amongst military veterens has risen by 14% over the last year despite government funding to support those in difficulty with housing and wraparound social care. according to the department of housing, a total of 2,110 veteren households were assessed as homeless, up from 1,850 in 2022. a 16—year—old has been arrested in connection with the murder of a 22—year—old woman in south london on christmas eve. police were called to a residential propertyjust after 10pm on sunday and provided emergency first aid to the victim who died at the scene. the suspect was arrested a short distance from the scene and police believe they were known to the victim. and a white christmas has been officially confirmed by the met office — following snowfall in the highlands of scotland.

you're live with bbc news. now, india says it's sending three war ships to the arabian sea after an israel—affiliated merchant vessel heading to an indian port was hit by a drone off its western coast last week. a statement from the navy said three guided missile destroyer ships had been deployed to maintain what it called a credible deterrence. with more details here's our south asia correspondent anbarasan ethirajan from delhi. hejoins us live he joins us live from delhi, how significant is this move by the indian military? the significant is this move by the indian military?— indian military? the fact that within days _ indian military? the fact that within days of _ indian military? the fact that within days of this _ indian military? the fact that within days of this attack - indian military? the fact that within days of this attack on | indian military? the fact that| within days of this attack on a tanker, chem pluto, in the arabian sea about 400 kilometres off the coast of the indian state of gujarat shows how seriously india is taking

this particular attack. this oil tanker was supposed to go from saudi arabia to southern india when it came under attack in the arabian sea. we still do not know who carried out this attack. now, what it shows is that whatever is happening in the red sea, where the houthi rebels were targeting many of the vehicles, we touched on the subject early in the programme, now the impact can be seen far away, more than 2000 kilometres away from the red sea. the us blamed iran for this attack but the iranian foreign ministry dismissed that accusation as baseless. what is important for india is to maintain the security of its shipping lanes because it depends on oil supplies from the middle east, some of the topmost oil exporters are saudi arabia and iraq, to india. so, that is why india is sending three guided missile destroyers to send out a message in case this particular drone was launched from any boat or any other medium range chip, that would send a

clear warning that we are here to protect our waters and protect our shipping lanes because this will have a huge impact on the economy. thank you very much. now, cameras have followed king charles for more than a yearfor a bbc documentary that will be broadcast on tuesday evening. it'll feature new footage of king charles with his grandchildren rehearsing before the coronation, and informal moments with the queen. our royal correspondent, daniela relph, has more. the coronation rehearsals inside westminster abbey. an important practice for all the family. wow. look at that! and a greeting from a grandfather and father, as well as a king about to be crowned. what struck me particularly is how extraordinarily affectionate they are. they're clearly a very close family. you know, of all the generations. and, in a sense, you felt you're part of a family occasion as well as, you know, a royal occasion and a national occasion.

for the first time, the programme will show the intricate preparations and alterations that were made to the crowns used during the coronation. and, on the big day, after the service, cameras filmed the welcome back at buckingham palace. three cheers for his majesty, the king and her majesty, the queen. hip, hip. hooray! the programme is not a critical eye over the royal family's year. there is no mention of the duke and duchess of sussex, harry and meghan, nor prince andrew. it is instead a view of some of those moments we don't normally get to see. ijust love the way the sun comes through the cotinus. it's marvellous, isn't it? the king and queen are here at balmoral and some time away from public duty. where's your ball, beth? there we are. they chuckle. don't leave it. all busy eating grass, what are you doing?

she loves eating grass. for those who know them best, amidst the noise of coronation year, a reminder of something very personal. she is his rock, and i can't actually emphasise that enough. she's somebody who is completely loyal and she isn't somebody who has huge highs and lows. he brings to her everything. i'm not talking about all of this, but, you know, he has such a knowledge and interest in so many different things, which she wouldn't really have been open to if she hadn't met him. it's lovely to bounce on that bridge. every child that comes here, they rush there and bounce about on the bridge for hours. all access to the royal family is carefully managed. but here the curtain is slightly lifted on some of the more private moments of a very public year.

i knew that would be... yes. daniel relph, bbc news. mile—long queues, stampedes at opening time and chaos at the tills — that's certainly how the uk's boxing day sales used to be. but with so many pre—christmas discounts and online deals, are people still heading out to the high street in search of a bargain? our reporter vishala sri pathma joins us now from oxford street in central london this morning. how is trade this morning? we have a stead flow how is trade this morning? we have a steady flow of — how is trade this morning? we have a steady flow of people _ how is trade this morning? we have a steady flow of people now, _ how is trade this morning? we have a steady flow of people now, certainly l steady flow of people now, certainly a lot more crowds than appeared in the last half an hour or so, we were here at 6am, it was absolutely deserted which is very different to what boxing day sales used to be. we used to see crowds, queues of people down streets, that has changed a lot. we are outside selfridge's, an iconic store, people from all around the world come here to visit. this is a bit of an experience, stopping here, they aren'tjust is a bit of an experience, stopping here, they aren't just for for sales, may be a restaurant, bar,

beauty services. there are some reasons why boxing day isn't as big as it used to be, black friday six weeks ago is a big sales event. cost of living is the issue of ourselves around the world as prices are a bit higher so retailers are having to work a lot harder to try and get consumers to spend their money with them. . ~ consumers to spend their money with them. ., ,, i. consumers to spend their money with them. ., ~' ,, , consumers to spend their money with them. ., ,, i. , . ., them. thank you very much and we will be returning _ them. thank you very much and we will be returning to _ them. thank you very much and we will be returning to you _ them. thank you very much and we will be returning to you throughout| will be returning to you throughout the day to see how everyone is taking in boxing day. stay with us here on bbc news. most parts of the country dry with some spells of hazy sunshine before tomorrow, it potentialfor some spells of hazy sunshine before tomorrow, it potential for more travel problems as wet and windy weather pushes its way in and plenty of snow on the scottish hills. that is the weather system brewing for tomorrow, that's the one clearing from christmas day. we are in the

window between them. most dry, even fewer showers across northern scotland compared to the morning during the afternoon. areas of high cloud drifting northwards, though, sunshine and a bit more muted for some of you during the second half of the day. temperatures down and yesterday but overall, above average for the time of year. rain in cornwall, channel islands, pushing its way northwards overnight. heavy rain at times later and is that hits colder air in scotland, we will see temperatures drop down to —4 —5 before it is no sin, snow will fall. may be on the hills on the tops of the pennines and the southern uplands too. into tomorrow, some chilly air in the north of scotland but this is the weather system that will bring extensive rain and strong winds, the snow, though, even on modest scottish hills in central and northern areas will cause some travel issues. good to see some blizzards as well with over 15 centimetres of snow mounting up and some strengthening winds, too. rain theissue some strengthening winds, too. rain the issue elsewhere, lots of puddles, surface water, in east

anglia and the south—east, some will say drier until into the afternoon and it will brighten up after some heavy bursts of rain out in the west later. the other issue tomorrow, of course, the strength of the winter. strongest in the far north of scotland, 60 or 70 mph and the english channel. some temperatures on the milder side of things for late december but don't forget, that will be temperatures a bit by the strength of the wind and it will remain windy through wednesday night. windier spell through the irish sea coast compared with the day. winds gradually easing down through northern scotland but for most, the blustery conditions continue into thursday. down a little bit compared to what we saw on wednesday and bit more sunshine at times but a scattering of showers. some of them heavy and thundery and some longer spells of rain and even a bit of snow on the tops of mountains later. to see out the new year, further rain at times. your best dry and brighter weather for the end of the weekend will be on saturday. take care.

now on bbc news, nobel minds 2023: episode two. hello and welcome to nobel minds with me, zeinab badawi, from the royal palace in stockholm. we'll be hearing from this year's nobel laureates. alsojoining us are

their royal highnesses, the crown princess victoria of sweden and prince daniel, as well as students from here in sweden. welcome to nobel minds and the second of our two programmes. laureates, this is the first time that some of you have been brought together in discussion on television. congratulations to you all. thank you. applause first, let's look at the chemistry prize, with its scientific breakthroughs that have myriad uses that will benefit humankind. let's have a short video looking at what the prize for chemistry was made for. it's very strange.

the nano world is really, really bizarre.