christmas celebrations are muted in bethlehem for a second year as hope builds that a ceasefire deal might be close. protests break out in syria calling for the protection of minorities by islamist leaders, after the burning of a christmas tree near hama. and a nasa spacecraft makes history — flying closer to the sun than ever before. a warm welcome to newsday. i'm suranjana tewari. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says a negotiation

team has returned to tel aviv for �*internal consultations�* after a significant week of negotiations in qatar. officials say that both sides have shown a greater willingness to reach a deal but that key details must still be worked out. it comes as israel intensifies its attacks in gaza, with the territory's health ministry reporting that three hospitals in the north were targeted earlier on tuesday — forcing patients to evacuate. meanwhile, christmas celebrations are muted for a second year in bethlehem since the war between israel and hamas erupted last year. local authorities have scaled down festivities and ceremonies in the holy city — with church leaders providing spiritual guidance to those in grief. our correspondent, shaimaa khalil, is in bethlehem. midnight mass at the nativity church ushers in yet another sombre christmas here in bethlehem, the big celebrations have been cancelled and the ceremonies have been sombre and muted. the huge christmas tree

that normally lights up and glistens in the night here in manger square is nowhere to be seen. instead, children in the procession were carrying banners calling for the end of the war in gaza. the latin patriarch ofjerusalem, the cardinal, spoke today to the crowd, he spoke about the christmas mass that he held in gaza the day before. he described the destruction, the poverty, the despair that he has seen, but he also spoke about the resilience of the gazan people, the fact they have not given on life, that this is the message he carries from gaza. "do not give up." in the gaza strip itself, the fighting continues. details are still emerging as we hearfrom health officials in the health ministry in gaza about three hospitals being bombed overnight. the director of the hospital was giving a video message and you could hear the explosions as he was saying the bombing lasted through the night.

it caused at least 20 injuries there. we heard from the israeli forces, who said that they were targeting hamas fighters in the indonesian hospital, that's why they ordered an evacuation, and that there were aware that there were strikes near two other hospitals or the vicinity of the other two hospitals. this as christians in gaza mark another christmas in the midst of devastation. for a second year, the war in gaza casts a huge shadow on this biblical city. i've been speaking to people here and one shop owner who has been struggling for two years now says, "no one is able to help us but god. we pray for peace and we hope for a ceasefire." syria's new administration has deployed heavy security around christian churches in damascus, as the capital marks its first christmas under new leadership. bells ring. armed fighters and civil defense teams are surrounding the lady of damascus church, where worshippers are

gathering for services. it comes after islamist fighters allegedly set fire to a christmas tree in a christian—majority town hts, the former rebel group now nominally in charge of syria, say they'll punish those responsible for the tree burning in hama province, amid wider concerns over attacks on christian sites. lina sinjab reports from damascus. they chant. solidarity in anger. "we will sacrifice our soul for our cross", the crowd chants. christians have taken to the streets in different parts of syria, fearing for their safety. two masked gunmen set fire to this christmas tree in a predominantly christian town in central syria on monday. members of hayat tahrir al—sham are seen trying to put it out. they said they had captured the perpetrators,

who were foreign fighters. hayat tahrir al—sham is the group that brought down bashar al—assad. they began as a jihadist organisation wanting to establish a state governed by islamic law. since taking over, its leaders have vowed to protect the rights of the country's diverse religious and ethnic groups. translation: to be honest, we are not protected. - we are scared. they need to publicly catch those who are creating problems, and if they are foreigners they should leave. this transitional phase comes with uncertainties for many people, including minorities. and such incidents will increase the worries and fears among them. there are people who have vested interest in spreading those fears, there are people

who have vested he had invited all rebel factions to dismantle and join the official army, and they have agreed. this is a significant step in providing safety in the country, and avoiding internal powerfights. the leadership of hayat tahrir al—sham faces many challenges, but for now, their guards seem to be trying to provide protection when needed. lina sinjab, bbc news, damascus. nasa's groundbreaking parker solar probe is set make history as it attempts its closest ever journey to the sun. racing towards the star at a speed of over 430,000 miles per hour, the spacecraft is braving extreme radiation

and blistering temperatures of 1,400 c as it enters the sun's outer atmosphere. if it survives, the data it sends back to earth could unlock some of the sun's biggest mysteries. 0ur science editor, rebecca morelle, has more. 0ur 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. nasa's parker solar probe blasted off in 2018. 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 only way to be able to understand

those processes is to fly through them, 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, it's 3.8 million miles — 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 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, but 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 probes even recorded the sounds of the sun — dispersive chirping waves, langmuir waves, and doctor who—like whistler mode waves. 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. eric berger is senior space editor at the science and tech website arz technica. he told me more about the significance of this mission. it is just the fact we have never really gotten this insight into the star, this is what brings us life,

brings us all the energy we rely on, we are subject to solar flares and things like that which create aurora. really having a much better fundamental understanding of the sun and how it works and the type of space weather it produces is very important to understanding our place in the solar system and predicting better, potentially negative outcomes like solar flares. yes, when it comes to these kinds of missions, there is the science and then there are the commercial aspects nowadays, aren't there? elon musk is going to have a very big role in the donald trump administration by the looks of things, but he is also ceo of spacex. how worried are people at nasa about elon musk having so much power over space policy? there is a lot of trepidation, he will be not be dictating space policy, but he put, someone he knows

welljared isaacman, will be nominated to be the nasa administrator. people at nasa ought to be concerned when you look at the results of the spacex, it has produced over the last ten or 15 years compared to nasa. nasa has launched one rocket and spacex has launched 400. elon musk and the trump administration will see more efficiency from the space agency. why has nasa only launched one rocket in the last few years? well, it's a complicated story, but basically the government moves to slow cost plus contracts, and there is not really an incentive, for a number

of years they had nasa you can be sure every year you will get your budget. with spacex you had to kill your food to keep living. how does the public feel about naas, is it still inspiring? there are a couple of things nasa did well, parker solar probe, they launched a probe to study dark energy and jupiter. no commercial company will launch a probe to study the sun. to study the sun. these are things that space agencies do, but the other thing the private sector does much better like spacex is much more efficient at launching rockets than the government is. the trick is going to be finding a happy medium, identifying what the government does well and nasa and identifying what commercial companies do well. there is probably some discomfort at

nasa because there are some parts of the agency which have not operated really efficiency. very quickly, we have 20 seconds left, lots of countries in this region where i am, india, japan and china have made great strides in terms of space missions. russia, obviously its space mission is in a state of disrepair, do you think the us will be able to keep up the competition? that's the great question of the next four years and we will see a contest with china in civil space and military space. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the government's launched a consultation on its plans to phase out new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. in its election manifesto, labour had committed to reversing a decision by the previous government to extend the deadline to 2035. the transport secretary heidi alexander is now seeking views from the industry

about how to deliver the ban. the scottish government says the ambulance service has declared the highest level of emergency due to pressures, including lengthy hospital handover times and an increase in respiratory viruses. the status means staff leave could be cancelled and all available staff might be called in to work. christmas orders have been further delayed for some morrisons customers. it comes more than 24 hours after the supermarket had what it called "systems issues," causing deliveries to be cancelled and discounts not applied. morrisons has apologised and says deliveries are back to normal but it has yet to reveal the cause of the problem. you're live with bbc news. as 2024 draws to a close, bangladesh's political landscape remains charged with tension, heavily shaped by the legal battles surrounding interim leader,

and nobel laureate dr muhammad yunus. there have been intense opposition protests, government crackdowns and widespread calls for faster electoral reforms. now, just days before the end of the year, bangladesh has formally asked india to send back the former prime minister, sheikh hasina, to face charges of her own. ms hasina fled to india after massive anti—government protests in august. i'm joined now by farwa aamer, director of south asia initiatives at the asia society policy institute. many thanks for joining many thanks forjoining us on the programme, bangladesh has asked india to send back sheikh hasina, it is a very important relationship for bangladesh, do you see it improving? figs relationship for bangladesh, do you see it improving?— you see it improving? as you ointed you see it improving? as you pointed out _ you see it improving? as you pointed out the _ you see it improving? as you pointed out the relationship l pointed out the relationship has been an extremely important

one and especially during years of sheikh hasina the relationship was flourishing but ever since august five has been a strain and it is quite evident through the kind of concerns that have erupted throughout the last few months and its relationship with india including the attacks on him minorities and concerns that have risen in india and reciprocal attacks on bangladeshi diplomatic missions in india and now with this extradition request, which has beenin extradition request, which has been in the making has been expecting, india has been expecting, india has been expecting it it is very important going into 2025 for india and bangladesh also to navigate this relationship and make sure they reach, it's a very delicate balance, they reach some kind of understanding that the relationship is stabilised for the sake of their very long border their economic ties and their historical ties. i

border their economic ties and their historical ties.— their historical ties. i mean we have — their historical ties. i mean we have seen _ their historical ties. i mean we have seen some - their historical ties. i mean j we have seen some attacks their historical ties. i mean i we have seen some attacks on hindus they are obviously causing tension as well. hindus do make 90% of the bangladeshi population. doesn't look like they will a seat at the table as dr muhammad yunus continues to try to reform the country. it needs to be a democratic country if it wants to continue on that pathway we saw with protest the idea was to spread through the shackles of how the country was being run over the past many years and bring in a revolution. bangladesh does have this once in a generation opportunity to create something new, whether it is an inclusive government that happens we minorities are given a decision—making right and a seat at the table, even better i think makes it look like an inclusive and healthy

democracy. in inclusive and healthy democracy. inclusive and healthy democra . ., ., democracy. in general four months after _ democracy. in general four months after the _ democracy. in general four months after the fall - democracy. in general four months after the fall of. democracy. in general four- months after the fall of sheikh hasina how do you think the government of muhammad yunus is doing? government of muhammad yunus is doinu ? ~ . , , ., government of muhammad yunus is doin.? . .,, , ., ., doing? well, it has been a lot of pressure — doing? well, it has been a lot of pressure on _ doing? well, it has been a lot of pressure on the _ doing? well, it has been a lot of pressure on the interim - of pressure on the interim government, soon after what he saw the episodes of august five, a lot of problems have been domestic, a lot of priorities have been domestic and part of which obviously is the accountability of the killings that happened during the of the summer leading to the of the summer leading to the ousting of sheikh hasina, hence the trials and tribulations attached to that. right now there is also a challenge of creating an accepted and consolidated logical system which is running simultaneously with everything else right now. under muhammad yunus the team seems dedicated to achieving some of the most important objectives like economic stability and discussing threats like climate change is going on international platforms like

the cop in the g8 but now as we head into a new year will be important to observe how some the promised political reforms which range from storing public institutions to bettering day—to—day governance will be shaped and implemented so they can eventually lead to the promised stability. it is important however no interim system prolongs and democratic elections are held sooner than later. muhammad yunus has announced the next elections will take place in late 2025 or early 26, part of that as he wants 100% voter turnout and wants 100% voter turnout and wants to update the voter list and india's very recent conversation this morning this week earlier with the us aid he said ben solomon he said once reports from the six major re— form commissions processes will begin to reform the country for elections. the other important

thing to consider right now there are a number of political factions within bangladesh and for a stable, secure pathway as it is imagined it will be important to have consensus within political parties, for political transparency and evidence of any reforms coming in and especially if they are stringent in the short run so they can avoid what happened last summer. we they can avoid what happened last summer.— last summer. we will have to leave it there. _ last summer. we will have to leave it there. many - last summer. we will have to leave it there. many thanks l last summer. we will have to i leave it there. many thanks for joining us. farwa aamer, thank you. director of south asia initiatives at the asia society policy institute. a russian air strike has hit ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky�*s home town while his christmas message was being broadcast. rescuers are digging through the rubble, searching for survivors. at least one person was killed and dozens more injured in the attack. ukraine is marking its third christmas since the russian invasion. at kyiv�*s saint sofia cathedral,

mr zelensky said ukrainians wanted to see a christmas star shining in the skies, not russian missiles and drones. elsewhere, putin's forces are continuing to advance in eastern ukraine, and are now within just a few miles of the city of pokrovsk, which is a key hub for ukraine's war effort. but it is also the birthplace of a well—known christmas carol. the bbc�*s defence correspondent jonathan beale reports from a city under threat. music: carol of the bells sung in ukrainian. 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 has 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. explosion in background. 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 are 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. piano plays carol of the bells. 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 are 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.

now to hawaii, where one of the world's most active volcanoes is throwing columns of lava into the air. these live pictures are coming to us from kilauea on hawaii's big island. officials say there is no immediate danger to residents but warned that volcanic smog could reach inhabited areas downwind. this is the second time the volcano has erupted this year. the north american aerospace command says they have repositioned its radars and satellites to track santa claus as he continues his worldwide mission to deliver presents to children around the globe. while he has already delivered joy and presents here in singapore and across most of the world, he still has a few stops to go. right now, santa is heading for delware, so if you are watching, you better to get to bed quick. that's all for now.

stay with bbc news. hello. well, it's so mild, i don't think we're going to even see a flake of snow falling on the highest peaks of the highlands. it's just such a warm atmosphere over us right now, streaming in from the southern climes. christmas day will be rather cloudy for most of us. a few glimmers of sunshine here and there, and it looks as though it's going to stay mild for the remainder of the year. now, on the satellite picture, you can see this conveyor belt of cloud streaming in from the central north atlantic. ahead of it, a push of mild air coming all the way from the azores. and it's spreading notjust over the uk and many parts of western europe, but also well into scandinavia, where temperatures are above freezing. so it's a very mild end to what will be a record—breaking year globally as far as the temperature goes. now, let's have a look at the forecast for the morning then. so we start off very mild. breezy conditions in scotland, if not very windy around some coastal areas. a little bit of rain there

flirting with northwestern scotland. elsewhere, some sunny spells developing, for example, eastern scotland to the east of the pennines to the lee of any high ground — with this southwesterly breeze. and double figures right across the board. 12, 13 celsius is certainly on the cards, for example, in northern ireland. so a very mild christmas day and a mild boxing day on the way. the winds are going to ease, though, across scotland. you can see the pressure lines there, the isobars to the north. here, it's going to be a little bit lighter, that wind. but the weather front will make some progress and will bring some dribs and drabs of rain to scotland and perhaps northern ireland. again, sunny spells are possible to the lee of high ground. double figures mostly across the board, but northern scotland finds itself just the other side of that weather front in this slightly colder air. when i say "colder", it's actually closer to what we'd expect, at least on average, across this part of the world. so friday, once again, mild air spread across the uk and, indeed, many other parts of europe. so anotherfairly cloudy and mild picture. those temperatures perhaps not quite so high, but still on the mild side.

a reminder — the average for this time of the year is typically between around 6—8 celsius. and as we head towards the new year, it's going to stay mild, but the indication is it will turn very windy, perhaps even stormy and really quite wet. that's it from me. merry christmas.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. so this is it, - a general election. thank you very much to everybody and goodnight. we did it! cheering will it ever get better than this again? - iranian missiles were fired in the last 20 minutes or so. this is just unprecedented, i mean, people are picking up mud, throwing it at the king.

look what happened! is this crazy?