hello, i'm samantha simmonds. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has said he is "grateful" to his air force for a missile attack that badly damaged a russian warship in the black sea. the novocherkassk was hit during an attack on the port of feodosiya in russian—occupied crimea. local officials say at least one person was killed. ukraine said the ship was destroyed. president zelensky wrote on telegram, "the occupiers will not have a single peaceful place in ukraine." james waterhouse reports from central ukraine. for ukraine, this was a high—value target. the russian novocherkassk landing ship struck by a guided missile. the force of the blast suggests it was full. moscow claims the ship was only damaged. kyiv says it was destroyed.

it's going to need more than a lick of paint regardless. crimea has been firmly held by russia since 2014, but sights like this have become more common with ukraine striking deeper into the peninsula. the novocherkassk would've almost certainly been loaded with either soldiers, hardware or both. it being taken out will hamper russia's ability to supply troops further north, as well as further weaken its naval dominance in the black sea. translation: a huge job has been done. - a big assault carrier was destroyed, and it did become part of a fleet to which the moskva missile cruiser belongs. kyiv has successfully targeted russian vessels before, including the moskva, once the flagship of moscow's black sea fleet. what attacks like these have yet to do is apply enough pressure on moscow for it to surrender ukrainian territory it has taken, but for ukraine, for president zelensky,

it is a welcome announcement against a backdrop of waning western support. in feodosiya, fragments of the ship were scattered for hundreds of metres. ukraine has only been able to liberate a few kilometres of its territory. the impact of strikes like this isn't always realised immediately, but they have slightly weakened russia's control here. the problem for ukraine is time is not its friend. peter dickinson is the editor of the ukrainealert blog at the atlantic council's eurasia center. he explained why many might consider this attack a particularly significant one. it's a very significant attack. it's one of a series of similar strikes that reflect ukraine's growing ability to hit russia's black sea fleet. this began in 2022 when the war was in its very early stages,

but it's escalated significantly over the past six months or so, with a number of serious hits that either destroyed or seriously damaged russian warships and have forced russia to withdraw the vast majority of its battleships and submarines even from the home port of the black sea fleet in sevastopol to russian ports and primarily to the east of the black sea. and in fact, russia has even reportedly begun work on developing a new port in occupied georgian territory in the east of the black sea, which reflects how severe the blow has been to the russian sea power in the black seat. so this is clearly part of a much bigger pattern and is showing ukraine's ability to force russia back from ukrainian coasts and to break the blockade of ukraine's own black sea ports. yeah, the uk defence minister says 20% of the russian

black sea fleet has been destroyed in the past few months. so tell us a bit more about what we understand to be russia's military capabilities there. well, the russia fleet has been used to first and foremost blockade ukraine's ports. that blockade has now been effectively broken by ukraine's operations in the past six months. the russian black sea fleet has also played a big role in missile attacks on ukrainian civilian infrastructure across the country. last winter in particular, when russian warships were used to launch cruise missile attacks. that has been very notably less of an occurrence this winter largely because these ships have been forced back. and of course they play a major role logistically in helping to support the russian invasion and bring supplies across to occupied crimea and to southern ukraine. so again this is undermining the ability of russia to maintain its invasion force,

especially in the south of ukraine. and then of course there's the morale factor. it's a huge morale boost for ukraine to be seen to be striking the sorts of warships and causing this kind of damage, and from a russian perspective, russia is now losing the battle of the black sea to a country that doesn't have a navy. and if you can imagine, that's pretty demoralising. some breaking news coming into us but ukraine's president has said the russian forces have shelled the railway station in kherson in there are number of casualties there. we have no number yet but the president and ukraine say russia has shelled the railway station in kherson. israel's military chief has warned there will be no swift finish to the war in gaza. army chief herzi halevi told a news conference the war will last "many more months". the hamas—run health ministry says 240 people have been killed in 2a hours. there are again fears

that the conflict could spread across the region. the us says it has carried out what it calls "necessary and proportionate" air strikes against pro—iranian militias based in iraq. the us says they were in response to attacks on american bases in the region. the government in iraq condemned the strikes as an "unacceptable attack on iraqi sovereignty". our correspondent shaimaa khalil is injerusalem. standing in what used to be her home. "ourthings, mum, they're gone." israel's bombing of rafah in southern gaza has continued, leaving those who fled there at a loss of where to go. translation: israel claims | that there are safe residential areas, or secure zones, but this attack shows that that's a lie. israel's military operation has intensified in khan younis, also in the south. little amal was sleeping with her family. the bomb hit them and killed her uncle. "they were sleeping," she says, "then i heard a big bang. rocks landed on us."

amal�*s baby sister is three days old. baby mariam is bearing the brunt of a conflict she was born into. as the military operation deepens into gaza, tensions have risen on israel's northern border with lebanon. israel's defense minister, yoav gallant, has visited troops in the north after, he said, they'd received cross—border fire from hezbollah, with the idf targeting some of the group's infrastructure. translation: hezbollah looks at what's happening in gaza - and understands very well what we did in gaza can also be done in beirut. hezbollah operatives were also targeted by the us in iraq. the pentagon said us forces carried out air strikes against what it called iran—sponsored militias in response to an attack on the erbil air base. israel's war in gaza is not close to being over, says the prime minister, and in its wake, otherfronts grow more tense in already volatile areas in the region.

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, jerusalem. here is our correspondent sally nabil on what the us has been saying about those attacks on iranian—backed targets in iraq. they say that it comes in response to strikes that have targeted us military bases in iraq before. since the beginning of the war in gaza, militant groups in iraq believed to be sponsored by iran have launched dozens of drone attacks targeting us military bases whether in iraq or in syria. just yesterday, on christmas day, three us servicemen were injured. we believe that one of them is in a critical condition, according to a statement issued by the us secretary of defense. they were injured as a result of a drone attack carried out by one of the militant groups operating

in iraq and believed to be supported by iran. and so the us strike came in response to that, and the statement issued by the secretary of defense said said that these strikes were proportionate and precise and that that us will do whatever it takes to protect its own nationals, whether inside or outside the country, and its interests. so if these strikes carried out by the militant groups in iraq do not stop, it seems that the us military response will go to an escalation. and tell us, sally, a little bit more about the growing role that we understand iran is playing in the region now. it's a very important and critical role because iran has a huge influence in a number of spots around the region. first of all, let's begin with iraq, and a lot of militant groups operating in this country who really have the upper hand when it comes to military response are sponsored

and supported by iran. and i've been to iraq, and i can definitely tell how much of an influence they do have inside this country, and they have been targeting us military bases since the beginning of the war in gaza. and if we look at the red sea, for example, and the houthi rebels in yemen, again they are sponsored by iran. and they have managed to disrupt the red sea because of the attacks they launch against many of the ships believed to be heading to israel. we have iran in syria supporting the syrian regime. so iran is effective in different spots around the region. russian opposition figure alexei navalny has confirmed he's been transferred to an arctic prison. he posted on x that he is in good spirits. considered vladimir putin's most vocal opponent, navalny has been imprisoned since 2021. the russian dissident has told supporters not to worry about him, insisting he's relieved to have reached the siberian penal colony,

but his chief of staff, leonid volkov, told the bbc concern for mr navalny remained high. we don't forget for a second that he is in the custody of desperate people who tried to kill him 3.5 years ago and that he is putin's very personal political prisoner. and this journey, this forced journey, is yet more another proof. so, of course, we are aware of it. and the only protection, if any, that still exists for alexei navalny is the spotlight of publicity. putin has to be reminded that the world cares about navalny and that he can'tjust hide him or kill him or whatever. this is very important for us. the post—christmas sales may be getting into full swing today, but research suggests shoppers will spend less than they did last year. major retailers such as m&s remained closed. so, with pre—christmas events such

as black friday and the availability of early discounts online, are the boxing day sales the major event they once were? theo leggett went to kingston—upon—thames to find out. christmas may be over, but now it's time for the sales. everything is reduced up to 50%. here in kingston—upon—thames, the mood today was cheerful as curious shoppers sought out the best bargains. and across the country, it was a similar story. it's the first time in a long time that we've come out on boxing day shopping. we normally do this online. we were holding out for boxing day sales cos we always come out - about the kids and it's time for us. i just like the atmosphere because it brings a lot of people out, of the busyness of being in the city. that's what i like the experience of that. we're going to buy a few things in the sales.

the shops are so busy, we can hardly get in, to be honest with you. i thought it was going to be more | sales, more staff, but it's less. i so i'm kind of a bit disappointed. it's just tradition, isn't it? yeah. ever since i was a kid, my dad would bring me and go around the shops. boxing day itself used to be a huge sales event, but discount extravaganzas such as black friday have robbed it of some of its impact. marks & spencer, next and john lewis all chose to remain closed today, yet boxing day is just the start. there is still plenty of time for people to think about going shopping before new year. retailers need shoppers to come out in force this week. it's a vital time of year for them, but the big question is with the cost of living still high and bills to pay, do consumers still have enough money to spend? early indications suggest that while shoppers did splash out more in the run—up to christmas than they did last year, trading was far from spectacular. i there'll definitely a temptation i for people to buy post—christmas, but unfortunately we've just got a lot less money to spend. - the cost of living crisis had a big i impact on how much we spent over the christmas period and could well do for the sales as well. _ research from vouchercodes suggests

we'll spend more than £14 billion in the shops and online between christmas and the new year, but that's still well down on 2022. for retailers, the next few days will be crucial. boxing day itself may not be what it once was, but the sales as a whole still really matter. what happens this week could lead retailers into a difficult winter or set them on track for a prosperous new year. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the former vice—president of hong kong's disbanded opposition has accused the uk of hardening its stance towards those leaving the territory. isaac cheng said immigration caseworkers appeared "predisposed to discredit" claims after several applications were rejected. a special visa scheme was established in 2021 for pro—democracy hong kongers escaping persecution. about 97% of applications have been successful. thames water has apologised after several homes in surrey were left without water today.

areas near guildford and godalming were worst affected. the company said most properties have now had their water supply restored. the chancellor and local mp jeremy hunt said he was "beside himself with frustation". europe's largest parking app operator has been hacked, with about 950 people in the uk having their personal data compromised. easypark group, which owns ring—go and park—mobile, said most of the customers affected were in europe and that names, contact information and parts of credit card numbers had been stolen. you're live with bbc news. the amazon rainforest is experiencing its worst drought since records began. one of its main rivers is recording the lowest levels in 121 years. the drought is the result of the effects of el nino, coupled with a warmer atlantic ocean and a heatwave in south american. but scientists worry that this drought means the amazon is moving faster towards its tipping point, where plant and animal life can no longer recover. stephanie hegarty reports.

0liveira is taking us to his village, and this is the only way to get there. it's a five—hour journey, at least normally. his community of a0 families is in the middle of the amazon. it's dry, and it's hot. brazil is in the midst of a heatwave. i think that's the end of the line. we've been travelling for nearly five hours now, and 0liveira says we're not even halfway. so it looks like we're going to have to turn back. hundreds of thousands of people have been cut off by this drought,

but scientists worry that an ecological disaster is unfolding, too. and there are signs. in two major lakes, dolphins are turning up dead. and here, in quarai within the rainforest, the air is thick with smoke. man—made fires burning out of control in a dry forest. so, we have rain. yes, finally. but perhaps not for long. not enough? well, climatologists are saying this drought will continue. flavia costa researches the health of plants and trees in the forest. some colleagues that are flying drones, they say they can

see also canopies that are completely defoliated. the fear is that the amazon is racing towards a theoretical tipping point. in the vast forests, water evaporates from the trees to form rain clouds, so it feeds itself the water it needs to sustain life. and if swathes of it die, that mechanism could be broken. the forest would keep dying, and faster, in a catastrophic feedback loop. in the last big drought here in 2015, some estimates say 2.5 billion plants and trees died. and we mostly expect the same now, which is sad. some regions will probably become savannahs, but there are pockets of forest that probably will remain. the amazon stores around 150 billion metric tonnes of carbon. we rely on it to help keep the planet cool, but the question is how long it can

continue to do that. stephanie hegarty, bbc news, in the amazon rainforest. nearly 7.5 million people in the uk watched the king's speech on christmas day. and for those who want more royal viewing a new documentary is now being broadcast on the bbc. cameras followed king charles for more than a year for the programme. 0ur 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. 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. _ yes, it's marvellous, isn't it? 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. 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. daniela relph, bbc news. more from ukraine now, and for the first time, the country celebrated christmas along with most of europe on the 25th of december, rather than the 7th of january. the move from the julian to the gregorian, or western, calendar was made by president zelensky. many ukrainians embraced the change with enthusiasm, viewing it as a positive step that emphasised their cultural separation from russia and called it a "historicaljustice". despite the war, in many cities, and villages people went to church and also crowded the streets dressed in traditional shirts called vyshyvankas, singing christmas carols.

i spoke to a well—known ukrainian singer, alyona alyona, and asked her how was it celebrating christmas for the first time on a new date. it's a birthing of new tradition, you know? because if we talk about our calendar in 1915, our christmas was the 25th of december, so we lost it, we forget it. and now we have super big possibility to go back to the roots, you know? and all people around are happy. some people buy gifts for children because we have our own, but children have to have funny time, peaceful time with family, presents and family, you try to spend this time together. it's very important.

you are a rap artist, and you have released a new rap song to celebrate the change of date for christmas. but i know you wanted to show, there is a bit of a traditional christmas song you were going to sing for us in ukrainian and will translate, so please go ahead. yeah, in this rap song we use words from some native song, so... she sings in ukrainian. that was lovely, thank you. yeah, thank you. the song is like the new star give you a new year.

so we come to celebrate with you, and we wish you that your seeds that put in the ground give a good harvest this year. that was lovely, thank you. very briefly, it is the second christmas that the country has been celebrating while at war. how has that felt? you know, we have a lot of traditions, but now at this time, it's really hard to go for all of these traditions. like, in my table, i didn't have 12 plates with meal as is traditional. i have only three because my mood is not super happy, and i'm not ready to celebrate at all like it was before. 0k. but we're celebrating because it's hope. an update on the breaking news we brought you earlier with the president of ukraine saying russian forces had shelled the kherson railway station. we have been told the ukrainian interior minister says one policeman has died and two people have been injured in the shelling of that railway station in kherson. keep up—to—date on the bbc

news life page there. we will keep across that story for you. a major us airline has apologised after mistakingly putting a young boy, travelling alone for the first time, on the wrong flight. six—year—old casper ended up a four—hour drive from his intended destination in florida, where he was due to meet his grandmother. spirit airlines has apologised and offered to reimburse his grandmother for the drive to pick up casper. poor thing. hopefully he got there in time. thanks for watching. hello there. i think you could call the boxing day weather the calm before the storm as things are set to turn very unsettled through tomorrow as storm gerrit, another named storm, hurtles across the country, bringing a mixture of rain, gales and heavy snow certainly across scotland. and it remains windy on thursday with further heavy showers at times. and this is storm gerrit winding itself up out in the atlantic, heading towards our shores as we move through this evening and overnight. so the rain piling into southern and western areas, winds picking up, too.

ahead of it, a cold night to come. subzero values with some frost and ice before the rain arrives, with increasing amounts of snow certainly to the hills here. so it'll be very cold to start wednesday here, milder further south. storm gerrit then fully in control of our weather on wednesday. lots of isobars on the charts, close together, hence the gales, outbreaks of heavy rain and some concerning amounts of snow falling overfairly modest hills in scotland through the morning and into the afternoon. up to 15 centimetres in places, maybe more than that. when you factor in the wind, we will see drifting and also blizzards. so some treacherous weather to come throughout the day on wednesday. heavy rain, strong winds elsewhere. maybe brightening up later in the day across some western areas, but i think most places staying cloudy. it will be very gusty, strong winds around the coast through the english channel, severe gales developing across north—east scotland and the northern isles later. gusts perhaps up to 75—80 mph here. double figure values for most in the south, cold across scotland, but it won't feel like that because of the strength of the wind.

as we head into thursday, we keep low pressure close by. lots of isobars on the chart again, so another windy, blustery day to come. plenty of showers rattling in from the south—west. some of these could be heavy at times across western areas. again, a risk of some gales. north—west england, western wales could see some disruption once again. a bit of sunshine here and there and some wintriness over the hills in scotland again. temperatures 9—12 degrees. so the weather on wednesday and thursday is likely to cause some disruption. a mixture of rain, snow and gales, so head online or check out the bbc weather app to see the details of all the weather warnings in place. and it remains unsettled for the rest of the week, the run—up to new year as well. could be that on saturday we see another spell of wet and windy weather with some mountain snow in the north.

matter for these are matter for some of the most powerful images of the past year captured by freelance journalists. a lot of people are still under the debris of the buildings. they work in challenging and dangerous places. but who are the people who capture these stories?

why do they do what they do? how do they achieve such remarkable results? and what are the impacts for them personally? hello and welcome to the programme. i'm mark urban. each year, we step behind the camera and speak to people covering the biggest news stories of the day, often under very difficult circumstances and great personal strain. these freelance video journalists are honoured by the rory peck awards, which are named after a british freelancer who was killed covering the coup in moscow in october 1993. i knew and worked alongside rory peck, and even decades later, his determination, coolness under fire and great sense of humour have stayed with me. in order to keep the memory of his example alive, the rory peck trust has supported freelance journalists and their families worldwide for nearly 30 years.