live from london, this is bbc news. one of the worst starvation crises in modern times. a new report says famine in sudan has expanded to five areas and likely to spread further next year. as ukraine prepares to mark its third christmas since russia's invasion, we bring you a special report from the city of pokrovsk, the birthplace of a well—known carol. live pictures of bethlehem, where muted christmas celebrations take place this year, as the war in the middle east rages on. and a record—smashing kiss of the sun, as nasa's solar probe makes history with the closest ever approach to the star. and ahead of her carol service at westminster abbey, which airs tonight, catherine also encouraged the world to turn to love, not fear.

hello, i'm maryam moshiri. a very warm welcome to bbc a very warm welcome to bbc news. we start in sudan, where famine is spreading, according to a global hunger monitor. the famine review committee of the integrated food phase classification, ipc, says warring parties continue to disrupt humanitarian aid needed to alleviate one of the worst starvation crises in modern times. it says famine conditions have been confirmed in two camps for internally—displaced people in el—fashir, also in parts of the darfur region and south kordofan state. another five areas are expected to slip into famine by may next year. the ipc says about 24.6 million people, about half of all sudanese, urgently need food aid. let's speak to our correspondent richard kagoe in nairobi.

richer, how bad is the situation?— richer, how bad is the situation? , ., ., , situation? de situation is dire -- richard- — situation? de situation is dire -- richard. half— situation? de situation is dire -- richard. half of _ situation? de situation is dire -- richard. half of sudan - situation? de situation is dire -- richard. half of sudan has 's -- richard. half of sudan has "s pepulation _ -- richard. half of sudan has 's population is _ -- richard. half of sudan has 's population is classified - -- richard. half of sudan has 's population is classified as l �*s population is classified as desperately in need of aid. we are desperately in need of aid. - are looking at cancer displaced people and residential is —— looking at camps for displaced people. a cautionary statement they are being issued by the committee saying that around 17 areas are at risk of famine and an additionalfive would areas are at risk of famine and an additional five would be —— turn the total would be ten. the situation is desperate. the sudanese authorities say that the report is not quite reflective of the situation on the ground because they didn't take into account malnutrition

data and crops from the last rainy season. it is a very troubling situation because based on the last situation at the al—salam camp which is home to many people there has been tension between sudanese authorities in the camp. thank ou ve authorities in the camp. thank you very much _ authorities in the camp. thank you very much indeed, - authorities in the camp. thank you very much indeed, richer, | you very much indeed, richer, for that update. —— richard. ukrainians are marking their third christmas since the russian invasion, with putin's forces pushing deeper into the east of the country. the city of he pokrovsk is russia's next target. its troops are now less than three kilometres from the city centre. it's a key military hub. but it's also part of ukraine's cultural identity too. it's the birthplace of a well—known christmas carol. our defence correspondent jonathan beale has this report. music: shchedryk. the discord of christmas in a shattered city. but this is where the composer of this

well—known carol once lived. pokrovsk — the next russian target. explosion. most of its population's already fled. explosion. no sound or sign of christmas here. just shelling. those left behind only break cover to find essentials. many are cut off from gas, water and electricity. ihor says you never know where or when the next hit will be. he likens it to living on a powder keg. oksana hopes ukraine can hold on, but she thinks it's unlikely. pokrovsk, she says, will probably fall. russian forces are still advancing towards the city of pokrovsk. they are nowjust a few miles from where i'm standing. and it's notjust the physical destruction of the city that you can see all around me. ukraine also accuses

russia of trying to erase its cultural identity, too. music: carol of the bells. this familiar tune, known as the carol of the bells, or shchedryk, in ukraine, was composed by mykola leontovych. this is where he worked as a music teacher in pokrovsk, a plaque now the only reminder. the hasych family fled pokrovsk this summer. they're now shocked at the scale of devastation. mum yulia says it makes her want to cry. but she isn't letting her daughters forget home or the signature song of their city. translation: when i played it at home, it seemed happy. - it reminded me of winter and christmas.

now it's more of a sad song to me, because it reminds me of home, and i really want to go back. but for one ukrainian military band, it's also become a song to inspire resistance. they're even taking it to the trenches, with weapons as improvised instruments. translation: we'll visit any brigade on the front line - and perform ukrainian songs on any weapon. it lifts the spirits, those beats and rhythms cheer up the guys and inspire them to fight. shchedryk shows that ukraine is a civilised nation now at war, fighting for its identity. for ukraine, there is a special significance to this tune this christmas. russia may be able to destroy its towns and cities, but it can't erase ukraine's separate identity or its past. jonathan beale, bbc news, pokrovsk.

a russian cargo ship has sunk in the mediterranean sea. take a look at this. this video, posted on social media, shows the ursa major listing off the coast of spain. the russian foreign ministry says the vessel sank after an explosion in its engine room. two of the 16 crew members are missing. the 1a survivors rescued have now arrived at the spanish port of cartagena on board a spanish coastguard vessel. the russian ship is reported to have been transporting specialised cranes to the russian port of vladivostok. tracking data from marine traffic shows that it left st petersburg on 11 december and had recently passed through the staits of gibraltar. it's the third russian ship to go down in ten days. russia has been accused of using a so—called ghost fleet of ships,

which are often poorly maintained and lack proper insurance, to circumvent sanctions. it's not known whether the ursa major was part of that fleet. protests have erupted across syria over the burning of a christmas tree in a christian—majority town near hama. demonstrators took to the streets of the capital damascus, calling for the new ruling faction, hts, to punish those responsible. the islamist hts movement has promised to protect minorities since toppling president bashar al assad earlier this month. bbc arabic�*s heba bitar was at a protest in damascus. we are at a protest in an area which is majority christian. protesters gathered today after similar demonstrations broke out last night after a christmas tree chanting protesters today are calling for unity of all syrians, regardless of their faith or ethnicity.

they call for the importance of protecting christians, stressing that they are not a minority. translation: we are gathered today to demand accountability for those who have committed violations. we are not against the laws or implementing them. we support what hts is doing, but we want there to be accountability. their chants also insist that their movement is peaceful. this comes only a few hours before christmas. celebrations are due to take place in several of damascus churches. security personnel from hts, which is currently running matters in syria, rushed to the protest area. they told us that they they told us that they were there to protect were there to protect the demonstrators. the demonstrators. translation: to be honest, translation: to be honest, we're not protected. we're not protected. we're scared. we're scared. they need to publicly catch they need to publicly catch those who are creating problems those who are creating problems and if they're foreigners, locals here are still worried. and if they're foreigners, they should leave. they should leave. hts said foreign fighters had hts said foreign fighters had been detained over burning been detained over burning the christmas tree in hama, but the christmas tree in hama, but

locals here are still worried. christmas celebrations are muted for a second year in bethlehem. take a look at the scene. this is the scene live in the city, the biblical birthplace ofjesus, where traditional festivities have been scaled back, leaving church leaders to focus on providing spiritual guidance and solidarity during a time of profound grief. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

a nasa spacecraft should by now have passed closer

our sun in all its fiery splendour. we've been studying it for centuries, but there's still so much we don't know about it. now the closest—ever encounter is set to finally shed light on our star. three, two, one, zero. nasa's parker solar probe blasted off in 2018, heading to the centre of our solar system. it's been orbiting our star, getting ever nearer, but this latest flyby is taking us to a new frontier — to touch the sun. even though we've had missions that have gone very close to the sun, that wasn't close enough to get into this sort of magic region where all of this physics and all of this — all of these processes are happening, and the the only way to be able to understand those processes is to fly through them and take the data right where all the action is happening. this mission is breaking records. parker solar probe hurtles past the sun

at 430,000 miles an hour. no human—made object has ever gone so fast. it's the equivalent of flying from london to new york in less than 30 seconds. at its closest, its 3.8 million miles, a 6.2 million kilometres, from our star's surface. that's closer than any other spacecraft. it will have to endure scorching temperatures of 1,400 degrees celsius as it passes through the sun's outer atmosphere, known as its corona, and this could solve a long—standing mystery. the corona is really, really hot, and we have no idea why. so, the surface of the sun is about 6,000 degrees or so. for the corona, this tenuous outer atmosphere that you can see during solar eclipses, that reaches millions of degrees, and that is further away from the sun. so how is that atmosphere getting hotter? the mission is also studying the solar wind, the constant stream of charged particles bursting out

from the sun's corona. the probe's even recorded the sounds of the sun. three different types of solar wind. various tones. dispersive chirping waves. langmuir waves. and doctor who—like whistler mode waves. when these particles interact with the earth's magnetic field, the sky lights up with dazzling auroras. but this space weather can cause problems, too, knocking out power grids, electronics and communication systems. the hope is the mission can help us to better understand this. but first, the spacecraft has to survive its burning—hot flyby. i will worry, but we really have designed that spacecraft to withstand all of these brutal, brutal conditions. it's a tough...tough little spacecraft. during this close approach, the spacecraft is out of communication for several days, so the nasa team face a nervous wait over christmas before they can finally discover the secrets of our star. rebecca morelle, bbc news.

let's speak to dr nour rawafi, astrophysicist and project scientist for nasa's parker solar probe mission. it is so good to get you on the show and thank you for taking the time to be here. how exciting! can you explain why the secrets of the sun are so important for us to discover? thank you for having me. understanding our star, the sun, is so crucial for us to live in harmony with the centre of our solar system. the sun is very active. we are now the solar maximum and the magnetic activity in the form of flares says whether it can affect us on earth like in may or october where we had big storms and our atmosphere. so the sun can

impact our gps or atmosphere and effect astronauts when they are out of the earth's atmosphere. so understanding hours sun is extremely important for our existence and our progress going for it. —— understanding our son. h0??? our progress going for it. -- understanding our son. how do ou feel understanding our son. how do you feel that — understanding our son. how do you feel that the _ understanding our son. how do you feel that the progress? - understanding our son. how do you feel that the progress? wej you feel that the progress? we are fl in: you feel that the progress? - are flying this tiny spacecraft in a region of space that is extremely hot. we know very little about it but we orbited the sun 21 times so we are not nervous, we are very excited. tomorrow on christmas eve 2024, parker solar probe is going to make history for all of humanity. it make history for all of humanity-— humanity. it will be a historical— humanity. it will be a historical moment. . humanity. it will be a i historical moment. talk humanity. it will be a - historical moment. talk about your own work towards this. how important has been for you to be involved in what you hope to get out of it? is

be involved in what you hope to get out of it?— get out of it? is a young scientist _ get out of it? is a young scientist years - get out of it? is a young scientist years ago - get out of it? is a young| scientist years ago when get out of it? is a young i scientist years ago when i get out of it? is a young - scientist years ago when i was hearing about solar probe that would fly within the earth's atmosphere down the sun's atmosphere, my dream was to live this moment as a scientist even from afar, just to see it. it was so exciting for me just that. but to be part of this project for 16 year and living it is a dream come true. i am dreaming with me as open. that is such a lovely way of describing it. thank you very much in the best of luck with the rest of the project. you for having me. the rest of the pro'ect. you for having me._ the rest of the pro'ect. you for having me. now it is time for having me. now it is time for the look _ for having me. now it is time for the look at _ sport back here on earth. here's chetan.

hello from the bbc sport centre. manchester united manager ruben amorim says marcus rashford does want to play for the club, amid speculation the striker wants to leave old trafford. rashford's missed united's last three games, after saying he was ready for a new challenge. after their 3—0 defeat to bournmouth, united are 13th in the premier league and go to wolves on boxing day. amorim says he wants rashford and all his players to meet the challenge ahead. like any other player, the best that they can be. if you have big talents, big performance and responsibility and engagement. push forward everybody in this moment. some guys have a big responsibility here because they are here for a long time. so this is maybe one of the lowest moments in our club. so we have to face it and be strong in this moment. that is what i want for every player on the team. eight premier league games to come on thursday. one of the most eye—catching is fourth—placed nottingham forest at home to tottenham. spurs have an injury crisis and are eleventh, after their 6—3 defeat to liverpool. after that match, manager ange postecoglou was frustrated with questions about his attacking approach to the game, and still feels that shouldn't be the focus.

we just had a heavy defeat and i said i take responsibility for that because i see what effect that has on everyone involved with the football club so that it weighs heavily on you. i don't think there are many managers who bounce into interviews after being beaten that sort of feel cheery about it. yeah... fair to say i'm getting tired of the same questions and answering the same way. ijust think it is almost like people want to poke the bear to see if i react. australia play india in the boxing day test on thursday. the series is currently tied 1—1, with two matches to go, after the third test was drawn. 0pener sam konstas is set to become australia's youngest male test batting debutant in over 70 years, at the age of 19, and his coach is looking forward to seeing what he can do.

we said from the get—go going into the summer we wouldn't shy away and age was no barrier, and what he has shown is an array of shots and to put pressure back onto opponents, and he gets his opportunity, so we are really excited for him. boxing day, the biggest stage. you may as well get that one out of the way early. world number one aryna sabalenka is one of four top—ten players on the initial entry list for next year's brisbane international wta 500 event, which begins at the weekend. she was the runner—up in brisbane last time and feels its ideal preparation the first major of the year, the australian open, which she's hoping to win for the third time in a row. iam super i am super happy to be back in australia because it feels like home and i am super excited to start playing here in brisbane. we are all here for one beautiful trophy so i will do my best to make sure i can hold

the beautiful trophy by the end of the week. philadelphia 76ers star joel embiid was ejected from his team's 111—106 win against the san antonio spurs after confronting a referee. embiid was given a third foul against him by when he charged victor wembanyama, knocking the frenchman to the floor with three minutes remaining of the first half. the 76ers player argued the call and then had to be restrained, as he ripped off his protective face mask and continued his protest, leading to two technical fouls and his ejection from the match. and that's all the sport for now. more reaction on the bbc sport website. thank you very much. the princess of wales has urged people to slow down and reflect on issues which connect each other at christmas. in a personal message,

recorded for her carol service at westminster abbey, the princess also encouraged the world to turn to love, not fear. 0ur senior royal correspondent daniela relph has more. the princess of wales came to this year's carol service after a challenging year. it's the same for so many others who joined her here. with her children and husband, she described christmas as a moment to slow down and reflect on the deeper things that connect us all. she has recorded some of the voice—over being used in tonight's broadcast. join me for this christmas eve for a special carol service to celebrate all those who've show love, empathy and kindness in our communities this year. this is a personal project for the princess of wales and supporting her with the music has been lady gabriella windsor. earlier this year, her husband took his own life. the princess said she was incredibly grateful for lady gabriella's contribution. # this christmas...#.

for paloma faith, singing in westminster abbey for the first time has been something special. it is something first of all that when i was born i never thought i'd be doing. i have spent my whole life watching this place on television in various situations and now we are here and there and no—one that i know can believe it. people are just like, "what?" "we can't believe you are here." what is striking about walking and isjust how much more magnificent it is in person. # do you know what i know?...# along with carols from the abbey choir, gregory porter will also perform. an experience, he says, was deeply meaningful. # do you know what i know?...# it was really wonderful to sing in the abbey. because the acoustics - are perfect, the visuals are perfect and the construction i was meant to be awe—inspiring and to feel- the presence of god. and you feel that in this extraordinary space so, | yeah, i was very excited. i love to be taken - back to my childhood.

up around this time of year, without question. - it is awe—inspiring, - i like to feel like a child in a place like this. the tree roared in the win... ——in the wind. the theme of taking care of each other run through the whole service. this actress reads a poem, the kindness of trees. when every child was asleep in bed, the tree sung a lullaby. the princess of wales will make another public appearance tomorrow, when she joins the rest of the royal family for the christmas day celebrations at sandringham. have you been naughty or nice?

there is someone keen to know the answer to that question because father christmas or santa claus is well on his way around the world. here at bbc news we have verified that the north american aerospace defence command has tracked centre currently above south korea. he is coming up to pusan in the next few seconds. this chapter every year does its job to follow centre around the world to tell children and adults where he is and where he is headed. it is a joint effort between canada and the us. so looking forward for a gift from santa myself. don't let me down, centre, baby! that is offer us. —— that is all for us. —— don't let me down

centre, baby! stay with us here on bbc news. it has been a quiet start on christmas. some misty conditions out there and drizzle. this will be the story for the next couple of days but one thing will change as the feel of the weather. monday was chilly but temperatures are already a good five or 6 degrees up and they will continue to climb for the next hour or so. continue to climb for the next hour orso. so continue to climb for the next hour or so. so it is an incredibly mild story and that is because we have high pressure building any wind direction has changed and squeezed that cooler air towards the continent. we have a weather front producing salary outbreaks and drizzle at times —— producing showery outbreaks. temperatures are certainly mild for this late

december stage. temperatures range from ten to 12 degrees. wind gusts up to 50 miles an hour which will feed into outbreaks of rain into the night. a blanket of cloud will prevent temperatures from falling too far so the early risers on christmas morning will have a mild start. christmas day this is what is in store. cloud around the quiet theme set to continue. have bursts in the western and northern isles. here it will stay windy. the cloud elsewhere will break up and left and we shall see some grimaces of brightness from time to time. staying mild but not as warm as today. 11 to 13 degrees as an afternoon high. almost a case of spot the difference in test boxing day. the weatherfront sinks its way down into northern england. some brief

glimpses of blue sky but cloudy. highs of 13 degrees. it is likely we could see the first signs of a change as we move into the weekend. this weather event will sink south and the direction changes to north west which will introduce colder air across scotland. it means as we head into the new year, showers will potentially turn wintry.

this is bbc news. the headlines: one of the worst starvation crises in modern times — a new report says famine in sudan has expanded to five areas and is likely to spread further next year. as ukraine prepares to mark its third christmas since russia's invasion, russian forces are closing in on the city of pokrovsk, a strategic military hub. a record—smashing "kiss of the sun", as nasa's solar probe makes history, with the closest ever approach to the star. now on bbc news, the sweet divide. i'm a little bit paranoid about what my children eat, and i started looking at labels and was shocked to discover how much sugar there was. this is not nutrition.