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. in a rare move israel acknowledges it was behind the assassination of hamas leader ismail haniyeh in tehran during the summer. a breakfrom tradition — this year the king's christmas message will be delivered from a former hospital chapel — rather than buckingham palace. 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, he then withdrew from that nomination due to the groundswell of controversy over this and incendiary on 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 a very significant mandate and still very significant control over both the party and the levers of power in washington. israel's defence minister confirms for the first time, that israel was behind the assassination of hamas leader ismail haniyeh in tehran over the summer. when hamas attacked israel on seventh october last year, he was the group's main leader. meanwhile, 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 have regrouped in that area. what oxfam is telling us is that in two and a half months, of the 3... 3a 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 day broadcast after a turbulent year for the king with a cancer diagnosis and treatment.

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 — fitzrovia 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 will this year host a piece of royal history. the king is said to have been bowled over by the chapel�*s beauty. it was once a place of solace and reflection for patients, staff and families using the middlesex hospital before the hospital was demolished in 2008. i assume that this space, being one of kind of calm reflection, but also thinking about health, about care and about the medical profession, would make it a pretty apt choice. we did feel very privileged. the chapel is not consecrated and is open to people of all faiths.

it's now used for community events and there are royal connections too. sister dorothy louise thomas was awarded the gold medal. j in 193a, the king's great grandfather, george v, was at middlesex hospital to honour nurse sister dorothy thomas for her bravery in a hospitalfire. she is now remembered on the chapel walls as an heroic colleague. the king wanted to do something different this year to make his message more personal and delivered from a space used by the community. but taking a christmas broadcast out of a royal residence is highly unusual. i usually make my christmas broadcast to the commonwealth from windsor or buckingham palace — this was queen elizabeth in 1989 at the royal albert hall for a christmas broadcast that focused on young people. in 2003, she took the message to a barracks in windsor during the iraq war, where she thanked servicemen and women and their families.

but virtually every other christmas broadcast has come from a royal residence. to choose this peaceful space in central london is a significant break with convention from a king who this year wants his christmas broadcast to reflect some of the experiences and challenges he has faced. daniela ralph, bbc news, fitzrovia chapel. 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 nought—point—one % 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 that's made the economy its top priority. the latest figures show zero growth between july and september. businesses say they're losing confidence and prices are rising.

this is how the economy's been performing over the past three years. as you can see, there was a fairly steady decline throughout 2022 and into 2023 and, at the end of last year, it went into recession, then a rally in the first half of 2024, but no growth, we now know, between july and september. and then there's inflation — a steep rise peaking at more than 11% in late 2022, but then falling steadily. but now it seems to be ticking up once again. the government insists 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. businesses say changes to national insurance and the minimum wage introduced in the budget are pushing up their costs.

the confederation of british industry says many are tightening their belts. what firms expect over the next quarter is to have falling output to reduce employment, and also we're going to have pressure on prices increasing as well. the british retail consortium says consumers are also losing confidence. these shoppers in manchester today were certainly feeling the pinch. i think i'm asking people l what they want and buying what they want them, and i think the thingsl that they want are affordable because everyone's - understanding that it is a very tight year. i it's quite expensive this year, more than any... well, everything's gone up, hasn't it? things are definitely getting more expensive, but there's not really much you can do about it, is there? the conservatives said today warning lights were flashing on the uk economy and that the government should urgently revisit what they called a disastrous budget to push for growth rather than decline. the government's gamble is that short—term pain will lead to long—term gain but, in the meantime, many

businesses expect to be feeling chilly economic winds well into the new year. theo leggett, bbc news. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

now it's time for a look at today's sport with olly foster. hello from the bbc sport centre. the england test captain, ben stokes, will be out for at least three months after tearing his hamstring. he picked up the injury in the final test agaist new zealand last week and scans have now revealed the extent of the tear and he will have surgery injanuary. it's the same hamstring he tore in august and that ruled him out for two months. stokes had already been omitted from the squad for the white ball tour to india next month and the champions trophy in february. england's next test isn't until the one off match against zimbabwe in may. fast bowler kate cross is in the england squad

for the women's ashes which starts in australia next month even though she hasn't fully recovered from the back strain that limited her involvement on the recent tour to south africa. she's made the white ball and test squads for the series which features three one dayers, three t20s and a four—day test match. heather knight will captain across all formats. cross played in last year's series that was drawn, with australia retaining the ashes that they have held since 2015. england will give cross every chance to be ready kate has probably got a little way to go to be fully fit at this point. but hopefully over the course of christmas, the work they will do off the field with her now, and we have quite a short turnaround, maybe ten days or so before the first game, so we will assess everyone 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 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. 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. which one is daniel? it's the one on the right. 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. i knew they were going to be here but i did not know you too are going to be here! 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 202a? my my sister's flight got cancelled, sadly. it's even better to celebrate with family and we all worked towards the goal of winning the olympics this year and we did it and now it's time to celebrate.— it's time to celebrate. that's all from me. _ it's time to celebrate. that's all from me. lauren. - it's time to celebrate. that's all from me. lauren. thankl it's time to celebrate. that's - all from me. lauren. thank you, ollie. one of india s most respected filmmakers 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.

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 1970s. 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. the chocolate maker cadbury has said it is "disappointed" after losing its royal warrant for the first time in 170 years. companies holding the royal warrant of appointment are recognised for providing goods or services to the monarchy. the chocolate firm — which is owned by the american multinational, mondelez — will no longer be allowed to display the royal arms on its packaging. marriage matchmaking and government—organised speed dating in south korea the search for love has taken an unusual turn. it comes as the country battles extremely low fertility and marriage rates. but will these unusual ways to meet your partner help boost them? rachel lee reports from seoul.

fairy tale weddings are expected in south korea and some couples are embracing new ways to meet. these newlyweds are unpacking their new life and business together. their story started when they met through a matching agency. translation: i signed up because i wanted to meet someone who also wanted to get married. lots of people do not want to these days. translation: working in construction, they were not many chances to meet new people. it was helpful to find an expert to help find a partner. the pandemic made it difficult to meet people in person and caused a resurgence in marriage matchmaking. translation: the industry has grown by 30 to a0%. perceptions have changed. in the past young people thought these agencies with people who fail to get

married and now they see them as a way to find someone who matches their specific needs. the matchmaking is not always successful or not everyone agrees with this method of finding a partner. translation: using a marriage matchmaking agency is not always viewed very positively. it can seem like people are being judged by their profiles and are getting married without love. it felt a bit embarrassing to tell friends and family that i signed up with an agency. despite the increased popularity of marriage matchmaking, south korea has extremely low marriage and fertility rates. they have been falling steadily for the past decade was not in fact, the fertility rate here is the lowest in the world. this is a huge challenge for the government, who is committed to tackling this issue. they too are playing matchmaker, organising speed events. they say they are providing young singles with the opportunity to meet and mingle. translation:

young people today lack opportunities to meet new people so i really appreciate that the city is providing a venue for this. but critics say they should be tackling high living costs, and supporting women to return to work meanwhile, the government say these strategies work with new marriages on the horizon. as young people search for love, they are also seeking stability and security. something the country needs too as it battles this demographic crisis. take a look at these pictures. dozens of santas swapped their sleighs for gondolas to bring some festive cheer to venice they rowed along the grand canal dressed in their signature red suits as part of the city's annual christmas regatta. it's the 12th time the event has taken place and large

crowds gathered to watch as they passed on boats covered in lights and decorations. 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, 1a, 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 fog patches around coasts and hills, some damp and hills, some damp and drizzly weather. and drizzly weather. we do have a weather we do have a weather front that's going to be front that's going to be bringing more general rain bringing more general rain in across the hebrides and in across the hebrides and the highlands through the day, the highlands through the day, but with temperatures but with temperatures across the board double across the board double figures —10—13 degrees — band of rain that was across figures —10—13 degrees — there's no chance of it there's no chance of it being a white being a white christmas anywhere. christmas anywhere. indeed, it's going to be indeed, it's going to be a very, very mild christmas. a very, very mild christmas. boxing day — boxing day — little overall change. little overall change. the changes that we do see the changes that we do see are all towards the north are all towards the north

of the uk, where we see this 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. in a rare move, israel acknowledges it was behind the summer assassination of hamas leader ismail haniyeh in iran. a breakfrom tradition — this year the king's christmas message will be delivered from a former hospital chapel, rather than buckingham palace.

and one of india's most respected film—makers, shayam benegal, has died at the age of 90. now on bbc news — the interview: gillian anderson. hi. please come into my lair, my library. what a library to have. what an appropriate place. hi, i'm katie. hello. gillian anderson has made a career playing powerful and interesting women... grit, good sense and determination... ..infilm, tv, and in the theatre. she found fame aged just 2a as dana scully in the x—files... agent mulder: isn't it nice to be suddenly - so highly regarded? ..before completely changing direction for her next role as lady dedlock in the bbc�*s bleak house and miss havisham in great expectations.

more recently she has played real—life characters,