live from london, this is bbc news. an ethics report into matt gaetz — who was briefly donald trump's nominee for attorney general — says there's "substantial evidence" he paid for sex with a minor and used illicit drugs. a breakfrom tradition — this year the king's christmas message will be delivered from a former hospital chapel — rather than buckingham palace. the uk economy flatlines — revised figures show no growth at all in the last quarter. and one of india's most respected film—makers, shaam benegal, has died at the age of 90 a long—awaited report into the conduct of the former republican congressman matt gaetz has found "substantial evidence" that he paid women for sex or drugs on numerous occasions, including paying a 17—year—old girl for sex.

according to a final draft of the report by the house ethics committee, the politician — who was donald trump's initial pick for attorney general — is said to have been involved in prostitution, statutory rape and illicit drug use. the age of consent in florida, where the majority of the incidents are alleged to have taken place, is 18. mr gaetz denies any improper conduct — and had mounted a legal challenge to try to block the report's publication. our north america correspondent in washington, tom bateman, explains the seriousness of these allegations and just how damaging they will be. this amounts to a really searing set of findings by the house ethics committee, concluding that there is substantial evidence that mr gaetz paid numerous women for sex, including a 17—year—old girl and repeatedly used and purchased illegal drugs including using his office in capitol hill to buy marijuana online,

among otherfindings. but as you say, highly damaging for the former congressman and given the fact that he had only last month been picked by donald trump to be the attorney general, to be the most senior law officer in the united states, officer in the united states. now, he then withdrew from that nomination to do the now, groundswell of controversy over this and incendiary and capitol hill and divisive even among his own republican colleagues. but mr gaetz has denied any wrongdoing in the lead up to this and after today's publication of the report, he has been very active on the social media site x, saying that, in his view, giving funds to women that he was dating that

they did not ask for is not in his words, prostitution. and also accusing the ethics committee and also accusing the ethics committee and others of what he calls a smear campaign, saying this is all being done by his enemies to damage him politically. and he is no longer the nominee for attorney general but this is because the blowback for mr donald trump at all? he withdrew in the weeks after as it was very clear he was not going to get the support he would need even from republican colleagues to make it through the nomination process to become attorney general and the seat in the cabinet of the united states. in terms of damage to donald trump, donald trump news knew well about these allegations, and the house ethics committee had been ongoing but mr trump and the house ethics committee had been ongoing when mr trump made this decision and out of all the picks that donald trump made among republicans, many of them, among his own party were aghast at this decision and it

became clear it was going to be untenable. some of the political damage is already been done and is now baked in and i think you have to remember that mr trump is not a conventional politician and it will not damage him to the extent that it might a more conventional politician. that said, mr trump is having some trouble at the moment, particularly among his republican colleagues. there has been a vote which nearly closed down, shut down the american government over the holiday period, largely instigated by mr trump as he pulled support for the budgetary arrangements that were going through. he saw a significant number of his own republican colleagues defy him in the course of all that over the last few days it's becoming clear that the degree to which he might want to ram things through the republican party has not proved quite as easy as he might�*ve hoped and this may add to the sense that there will be questions of hisjudgment

and decision—making. that said, he still feels that he goes to the presidency with that said, very significant mandate and still very significant control over both the party and the levers of power in washington. breaking news and israel acknowledges that for the first time _ acknowledges that for the first time that it killed the hamas leader— time that it killed the hamas leader in_ time that it killed the hamas leader in tehran... haniyeh in tehran he was in the capital it for a ceremony injuly and that's when he was assassinated and it was assumed at the time that israel was behind the assassination and now for the first time they have admitted publicly the killing of that hamas leader in iran injuly. more on that as we get it.

staying in the region... israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says progress in negotiations to secure a hostage release and ceasefire in gaza have been made. officials say that a deal between israel and hamas is the closest its ever been after months of deadlock. it comes as israel continues its military campaign in gaza, with palestinian officials saying that israeli attacks across the territory have killed more than 50 people in the past 2a hours — including in the southern "safe zone" of al—mawasi. earlier today, the aid organisation, oxfam, accused israel of systematically using starvation as a weapon or war. israel has denied these claims, saying it is doing everything it can to get humanitarian aid into the region. our middle east correspondent shaimaa khalil has the latest on today's developments. many strands on the gaza story to bring you tonight. one of those is what the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has been saying. in his address to the knesset. benjamin netanyahu talked about the cease fire deal, and he said, i can carefully say there has been certain progress

in the ceasefire deal. returning the hostages home is our top priority. the problem has always been in the final stages. we've been hearing about those three stages that could see 20 palestinian prisoners released for every female soldier, for example, that could see many of the hostages come home, that could see a big buffer zone several kilometres wide between gaza and israel in that border that could potentially see people back in the north of gaza with an egyptian and qatari oversight. what the prime minister says is that he couldn't give a timeline on when this is going to happen. another thing that we've heard today is a report from oxfam. and again, it paints a really grim picture that is the shortage of aid to gaza, especially in northern gaza. so areas like jabalia, beit lahia, beit hanoun. these areas have been besieged with ongoing fighting and relentless shelling because yet again, the israeli army is going after hamas

fighters who say, who say have regrouped in that area. what oxfam is telling us is that in two and a half months, of the 334 trucks of food and water that have been given permission to enter gaza, and the deliberate what they what they describe as the deliberate and systematic obstruction by the israeli army meant that only 12 were able to distribute food and water. now they also give this detail. of those three trucks were at a school, and after the food and water was distributed, the school was cleared from where people were sheltering. and then it was and then it was shelled. this blame game has been going on for months and months since the beginning of the war between the israeli forces who say, we're doing all we can. we're not obstructing aid to aid agencies who say that legally, the occupying force that is israel is obligated to not only make aid available, but to facilitate the distribution, the safe distribution of aid. and they say that israel hasn't done that.

for the first time in almost 20 years, the monarch�*s christmas day message is not being broadcast from a royal residence. instead, king charles has chosen a former hospital chapel, the fitzrovia chapel in london, which was used by staff and patients of the middlesex hospital before it closed in 2005. it is now used for community events. our senior royal correspondent daniela relph has more. an image taken from this year's christmas broadcast after a turbulent year for the christmas broadcast after a turbulent yearfor the king. to reflect that he wanted his christmas message to come from a location connected to health care and used by the community. he chose here. this chapel in central london. the chapel is tucked away amongst the modern blocks of flats and offices near oxford circus. a small, intimate space that this year will host a peace overall history.

the king is said to have been bowled over by the beauty of this chapel. once a place of solace and reflection, for patients, staff and family using the middlesex hospital before the hospital closed in 2005. after a year where the king was diagnosed with cancer and is still undergoing treatment he wanted his thinking about health, care, the medical profession would make it an apt choice. we did feel very privileged. the cha el feel very privileged. the chapel is _ feel very privileged. the chapel is not _ feel very privileged. the chapel is not consecrated and is open to people of all faiths. it is now used for community events and there are royal connections to. in 193a, the king's great grandfather george faith, was at middlesex hospital to honour a nurse for her bravery in hospital five. she is now remembered on the chapel walls as a heroic colleague.— chapel walls as a heroic collea . ue. ., ., colleague. the king wanted to do something _

colleague. the king wanted to do something different - colleague. the king wanted to do something different this i do something different this year, to make his message more personal and live from a spaced used by the community. taking the christmas broadcast out of a royal residence is highly unusual. i a royal residence is highly unusual-— a royal residence is highly unusual. , ., , , unusual. i usually make my christmas _ unusual. i usually make my christmas broadcast - unusual. i usually make my christmas broadcast to - unusual. i usually make my christmas broadcast to the | christmas broadcast to the commonwealth to d from windsor palace _ commonwealth to d from windsor palace. , . , ,, palace. this was queen elizabeth _ palace. this was queen elizabeth from - palace. this was queen elizabeth from the - palace. this was queen | elizabeth from the royal palace. this was queen - elizabeth from the royal albert hall for a christmas broadcast focused on young people. in 2003 she took the message to windsor during the iraq war where she thanked families. but virtually every other christmas broadcast has come from a royal residence. to choose this space in central london is a break from tradition. this year the king wanted his broadcast to reflect the experiences and challenges that he has faced. here in the uk, the chancellor

says the challenge to fix the economy is �*huge' after revised figures showed there was no economic growth between july and september. the office for national statistics originally estimated a small growth of 0.1% over the three months. but rachel reeves insists the government's economic plans will deliver long term, sustainable growth. the conservatives say the economy has tanked under labour. here's theo leggett. a bleak midwinterfor a government which has made the economy its top priority. the latest figures show zero growth between july and september. that's worse than initial estimates had suggested. businesses say they are losing confidence and prices are rising. this is how the economy that has been performing over the last three years. there was a steady decline through 2022 and in 2023 and at the end of last year went into recession. they rallied in the first half of 2024 but no growth we now know between july and september. then there is inflation. a steep rise peaking at more than 11% in late 2022

bed then falling steadily but now it seems to be picking up once again. the government insists that the future is bright. this labour government is going into 2025 with absolute resolve to work with investors, wealth creators and workers across the country to stimulate economic growth and improve living standards for workers across the country. this is our number one mission as a government and we start from a disappointing set of economic statistics businesses say that this is pushing up their costs. the confederation for british industry say that many are tightening their belts. they ex - ect tightening their belts. they expect to — tightening their belts. they expect to have _ tightening their belts. they expect to have falling - tightening their belts. they expect to have falling output to reduce employment and pressure to... to reduce employment and pressure to. . ._ pressure to... the british retail consortium - pressure to... the british retail consortium say - pressure to... the british | retail consortium say that people are also losing confidence. these people at manchester today were also feeling the pinch. i’m manchester today were also

feeling the pinch. i'm asking --eole feeling the pinch. i'm asking peeple what _ feeling the pinch. i'm asking people what they _ feeling the pinch. i'm asking people what they want - feeling the pinch. i'm asking people what they want and l people what they want and buying it for them and i think that the things that they want are affordable because everyone understands it's a very tight year. understands it's a very tight ear. �* , , , , year. it's quite expensive this ear, year. it's quite expensive this year. everything _ year. it's quite expensive this year, everything has - year. it's quite expensive this year, everything has gone - year. it's quite expensive this| year, everything has gone up. things— year, everything has gone up. things have gotten more exaensive _ things have gotten more “pensive-— things have gotten more exensive. ., , ., , expensive. the conservatives said today — expensive. the conservatives said today that _ expensive. the conservatives said today that warning - expensive. the conservatives said today that warning lights were flashing on the uk economy but the government should urgently revisit what they called a disastrous budget to push for growth than decline. the government's gamble is that short—term pain will lead to game. in the meantime, many businesses expect to feel the chill of economic wins early into the next year. around the world and across the uk this is bbc news.

now it is time for today's sport with ollie foster. many thanks indeed. the england test captain will be out for at

least three months after tearing his hamstring. he picked up the injury in the final test against new zealand last week and scans have now revealed the extent of the tear. he is going to have surgery next month. it is the same hamstring that he tore in august, it ruled him out for two months then. stokes had already been omitted from the squad next month for the champions trophy in february. england's next test is not until the one—off match against zimbabwe in may. that will be ben stoke's target. staying with cricket, the fast bowler is in the england squad for the women's ashes that starts in australia next month even though she has not fully recovered from the back strain that limited her involvement on the recent offer to south africa. there are 31 days, three t 20s she played in last year's theory that was

a draw with australia, retaining the ashes. they have held those since 2015. england are going to give cross every chance to be ready. she going to give cross every chance to be ready. she has got a little way _ chance to be ready. she has got a little way to — chance to be ready. she has got a little way to go _ chance to be ready. she has got a little way to go to _ chance to be ready. she has got a little way to go to be - chance to be ready. she has got a little way to go to be fully - a little way to go to be fully fit at this point. but hopefully over the course of christmas and the work that they will do off the field but for now, when we get on the plane, we got a short turnaround, maybe ten days or so before the first game so we will assess her performance as we go through that period. really bad injury news for arsenal , one of their most influential players, bukayo saka has a torn hamstring and in the words of his manager mikel arteta, he'll be out for "many weeks". the england forward was forced off during saturday's win at crystal palace — and left selhurst park on crutches. it's a huge blow to the gunners' title hopes, saka has chipped in with nine goals and 13 assists across all competitions this season. they are six points behind leaders liverpool having

played a game more. it isa it is a huge one. obviously, a big playerfor us. but he's got a really good exercise for us to think about ways to overcome another challenge because we already have a lot of the season. the us open doubles champion max purcell has been provisionally suspended after admitting he broke anti—doping rules. the 26—year—old says he "unknowingly received" an intravenous infusion of vitamins above the regulated limit of 100ml. for now he can't play in, coach at or attend any tennis event — with the length of his ban yet to be determined. he won the men's doubles title at wimbledon in 2022, and the us open this year. olympic champion daniel wiffen is bbc northern ireland's sports personality of the year — but the moment he found out caught him by surprise. wiffin was caught off guard at belfast airport as he arrived home for christmas alongside his twin brother nathan —

with his mum and dad waiting for him with the award. they probably chose his parents because they're the only ones who can tell them apart! wiffen became the first athlete from northern ireland to win an olympic gold medal in 36 years with victory in the 800m freestyle at the paris games — he also took bronze in the 1500m. amazing. sports personality of the year is pretty cool, obviously it is one of the biggest awards in sport and it's something i did not even know, it is quite a surprise coming off of a flight and it will be a great christmas and i will hang this up in the trophy cabinet. what's it like receiving it from your mum? even better, obviously. it's very special. it's your sister's birthday as well, she was initially going to present you with the award, so christmas a specialfamily time, what is it like to be back home and looking back on all of

those magical moments of 2024? my flight got cancelled —— her flight got cancelled unfortunately, but it is even better to celebrate with family and we all work towards the goal of winning the olympics this year and we did it and now it is time to celebrate. great year for great yearfor him. great year for him. lots great yearfor him. lots more sport on the bbc sport website, we will have more for you later. thank you, ollie. three hollywood stars have publicly backed the american actress blake lively after she filed a legal complaint against her co—star in the film �*it ends with us'. her complaint against justin baldoni, who was also the film's director, alleges sexual harassment as well as a campaign to "destroy" her reputation. his legal team say the allegations are "categorically false". nada tawfik has more. tension between blake lively and justin baldoni overshadowed the promotion of the film it ends with us over the summer. on the red carpet, their creative differences were apparent.

this is not a story about domestic violence. it's a woman's story about her life. there's this intersection between wanting to make the flowery movie, because oftentimes studios think that's what's best, and then the artistic choice. but it's now clear the drama on set went much deeper. lively has accused baldoni, both the director and a star of the film, of inappropriate behaviour and sexual harassment. a legal complaint details the alleged demands she made at the time, including no more showing of nude videos or images of women, including the producer's wife, no more descriptions of their own genitalia, no more mention by mr baldoni of him speaking to blake lively�*s dead father. afterward, she alleges he hired a pr crisis firm to launch a smear campaign against her. who else is engaged in sort of paid for hire online manipulation on behalf of, you know, powerful clients to manipulate public opinion and do damage to people's reputations?

justin baldoni's legal team said the allegations are categorically false, intentionally salacious, with an intent to publicly hurt, but the reaction in a post—metoo era hollywood has been swift. his talent agency dropped him and some of her co—stars were quick to support her with this statement. "we saw her summon the courage to ask for a safe workplace, "and we are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated "and vindictive effort that ensued to discredit her voice." once again, behaviour in hollywood is back in the spotlight and what lengths some will go to protect their image. nada tawfik, bbc news, new york. one of india's most respected film—makers has died at the age of 90. shyam benegal was an award—winning director and his career spanned more than four decades. his work was celebrated for its deep social commentary and realistic portrayal of indian society. his daughter said he had

been suffering from health complications. our south asia editor, anbarasan ethirajan explains just how significant benegal was to the indian film industry. renowned, accomplished and highly respected. he changed the way people looked at cinema, so he was one of the pioneers, or he was at the forefront of what people called new wave cinema in the 19705. as you know, india is a very vibrant and huge film industry, from bollywood to other regional languages. but then he came with a different genre, differing from the usual romantic comedies or action or thrillers, where he was reflecting the society, giving voice to the disenfranchised indians, holding a mirror to the indian society of what was happening in the country itself. for example, his first film, ankur in 1974, was seen as a searing criticism of india's caste system and the feudal system and what kind of impact. so people were woken up to the kind of holding this mirror reality. and he gave an interview to the bbc years ago.

let us hear from him what he talks about his creations. i would also think that there are a lot of film—makers like myself, who are concerned about all this, you know, and who have been making films, dealing with these subjects over a period of time — and not very recently. i mean, it's been going on for a long time — but they will always be somewhat marginal to the mainstream because the mainstream audience would go to the cinema, pay money to go to the cinema, to be entertained, not necessarily to, you know, be provided with an experience that kind of can be disturbing to them. some of his movies where it might have unhappy endings, or without the song and dance sequence, which you usually see in the bollywood movies. so he was challenging those established traditions of bollywood movies and in a way, highlighting the social structure, what problems, when you challenge the existing structure, what kind of problems people face and also the repression of women in the society.

so that is why he is seen as someone in a path—breaking director. he was an inspiration to many younger generation for a new wave of directors who set the tone for these kind of movies. and he did, you know, fabulous documentaries, as well, talking about india's history based on, you know, discovery of india book and several documentary films which are still considered as classics. we'll leave you now with some live pictures (live of kilauea volcano erupting on hawaii's big island. the us geological survey says the eruption has stabilized and there are no immediate threats to infrastructure. dramatic pictures there of one of the most active volcanoes in the world. the main threat, which apparently happens now, is the increase of volcanic gas in the air which could be coming downwind from the area. to stay with us on bbc news.

goodbye for now. hello. it's been a chilly day across eastern areas of the uk, with the weather slowly turning milder in the west. as the milder air started to arrive we had extensive low cloud, a bit of a fog up over the hills as well, and there's more of that to come over the next few days. in the eastern side of the uk, though in particular, we've got a big jump in temperatures on the way — temperatures climbing by ten degrees celsius between this afternoon and tuesday afternoon — christmas eve afternoon. the changes are all brought about by this warm front. once that's pushed through, which will happen overnight, we then get these southwesterly winds working in and it's these winds that will be bringing us some exceptionally mild weather. so overnight tonight, a lot of low cloud developing across western areas with some mist and fog patches around coasts and hills. some damp and drizzly weather. we could see some drizzle just about anywhere, to be honest, but it's one of those nights where temperatures will rise hour by hour through the night. and by the end of the night, for many of us, we'll be

looking at temperatures into double figures. and so it's going to be a much, much milderstart to the day tomorrow. but a case of really grey, cloudy, drab conditions. bit of morning drizzle slowly fizzling out as the day goes by. probably staying quite damp though for the hebrides and the highlands of scotland. sunny spells in short supply, but you might see a few brighter spells for north—east scotland and perhaps the eastern side of the pennines. temperatures 13, 14, maybe even 15 celsius. that would make it one of the mildest christmas eves we've ever seen. and this mild southwesterly airflow stays with us for the big day — for christmas itself. and so it's a case of extensive cloud around again, some mist and fog patches around coasts and hills, some damp and drizzly weather. we do have a weather front that's going to be bringing more general rain in across the hebrides and the highlands through the day, but with temperatures across the board double figures —10—13 degrees — there's no chance of it being a white christmas anywhere. indeed, it's going to be a very, very mild christmas. boxing day — little overall change. the changes that we do see are all towards the north

of the uk, where we see this band of rain that was across the hebrides and highlands, just sinking a bit further southwards. could bring a few spots of rain into northern ireland, the central belt of scotland, but not really amounting to too much here. the wettest weather will be still affecting parts of highland scotland. this mild spell of weather looks like it's going to hang around for about a week, but there are signs that it could turn colder in the run—up to new year's day and potentially, for some of us, a bit more wintry.

this is bbc news, the headlines... an ethics report into matt gaetz — who was briefly donald trump's nominee for attorney general — says there's "substantial evidence" he paid for sex with a minor and used illicit drugs. a breakfrom tradition — this year the king's christmas message will be delivered from a former hospital chapel, rather than buckingham palace. the uk economy flatlines — revised figures show no growth at all in the last quarter. and one of india's most respected film—makers, shaam benegal, has died at the age of 90. now on bbc news — christmas holiday hacks. it's christmas. well, don't we all love christmas? it is the most wonderful time of the year. and we went to lapland!