officials say 28 people have survived. russia launches a mass missile and drone attack against ukraine on christmas day. king charles and the british royal family prepare to attend church at sandringham — without prince andrew. and... today's not only christmas day, but it is also the first day of thejewish festival, hanukkah, a phenomenon commonly known as "christmukkah". hello. let's begin with a developing story from kazakhstan, where dozens of people are feared dead after a passenger plane with nearly 70 people on board crashed in the south west of the country. at least 25 injured have been taken to hospital. this dramatic footage shows the plane falling towards the earth, followed

by a large explosion as it hits the ground. the plane, operated by azerbaijan airlines, went down near the city of aktau. these pictures show rescue workers at the crash site. it is not yet known what caused the plane to go down, but it had reportedly been diverted due to fog. the plane was flying from baku, the capital of azerbaijan to grozny in russia. with me is our reporter jonathanjosephs. jonathan, first of all, what more do we know? jonathan, first of all, what more do we know?- jonathan, first of all, what more do we know? the details are very much _ more do we know? the details are very much still _ more do we know? the details are very much still emerging l are very much still emerging as the situation develops. what we do know is mainly from the cossack —— because i can stun authorities, we know that survivors have been taken to hospital, 29 people at the last count. that number has been changing over the last few hours. at the latest count

includes two children. this happened near the city of aktau, the flight was originally from baku in azerbaijan but seems to have been reported because of bad weather. it came down near the caspian sea, pictures from the crash and show a large body of water on the horizon. there are a huge number of rescue personnel involved, the authorities are posting on social media saying that there were about 150 people involved in it. the plane must have come down with some force, it seems to have broken into two, the back half of the plane almost intact on this field. and other parts show that there are scorch marks on the earth, there must have been a fire with the fuel tanks exploding, that would be the working presumption here. and there were bodies thrown from the aircraft we can see that they have been covered by sheets in

this field. as they are surrounded by the authorities. their focus will probably be initially on it trying to find the flight data records to get more information and to understand from the cockpit what the pilots were experiencing and trying to piece together exactly what happened using that information.- happened using that information. ~ ., happened using that information. ., ., information. we are looking at the pictures — information. we are looking at the pictures now _ information. we are looking at the pictures now that - information. we are looking at the pictures now that you - the pictures now that you described, that plane completely broken. at the back section still intact. what more do we know about that model and what is the manufacturers saying? it what is the manufacturers sa in: ? , what is the manufacturers sa inc? , . what is the manufacturers sa inc? �* ., ., saying? it is a brazilian company _ saying? it is a brazilian company sometimes i saying? it is a brazilian - company sometimes thought of saying? it is a brazilian _ company sometimes thought of as perhaps number three behind the two big companies in the commercial aviation buildings, which are obviously airbus and boeing. boeing has had lots of problems with its air craft over the last few years, but this one has had a pretty good safety record. the e 190 is a smaller safety record. the e190 is a smallerjet, configured to have around 100 passengers on board

depending on how an airline wants it. it has a very good safety record, a range of about 2800 miles, ithink safety record, a range of about 2800 miles, i think it is about 4500 km 2800 miles, i think it is about a500 km at a top speed of about 630 mph. used on many shorter flights around the world trying to link smaller cities together, because you do not need such a big runway for it. sources that the manufacturers say that they are working to understand exactly what happened, a spokesman for them has told me that they are able to assist the because i can stun authorities and that their concerns and sympathy go to the family, friends and colleagues and loved ones of those who have been affected by this accident. some unusual circumstances for this company, and they are extending the by to send teams to the scene to help with the investigation, as you would normally expect an aircraft manufacturer to do in these circumstances.- aircraft manufacturer to do in these circumstances. thank you very much. _ these circumstances. thank you very much. for— these circumstances. thank you very much, for bringing - these circumstances. thank you very much, for bringing us - very much, for bringing us up—to—date with that air crashing because kazakhstan. ukrainian cities have come under large—scale

russian missile attacks on christmas morning. speaking in the last few hours, president zelensky said russia had launched over 70 missiles and 100 drones at ukraine's energy system. the mayor of kharkiv, in the northeast of the country, said at least three people were injured and that civilian infrastructure had been damaged. in recent months, russia has been intensifying its attacks on ukraine's energy system, and has accelerated its advance across the east of the country. from kyiv, our correspondent will vernon has the latest developments. a pretty upsetting start to christmas, obviously, for many ukrainians. a large scale attack on ukraine's infrastructure energy infrastructure. this morning, over 70 ballistic and cruise missiles were fired at ukrainian cities. that's according to president zelensky, who called this attack inhumane. and in his statement, he said he thanked ukrainian soldiers who are on duty on the front line and those protecting the skies of ukraine. he said russian evil will not break ukraine and will not spoil christmas.

now, there haven't been any reports yet of anyone killed in these attacks, but several people have been injured, including in kharkiv, ukraine's second largest city in the east, where there are a large number of explosions heard this morning. and the ukrainian state energy provider said that it will be introducing hourly power outages in several regions across the country. russia has been systematically really destroying ukraine's energy infrastructure over the course of several months now in september. president zelensky said that 80% of it had been destroyed in russian attacks. it is bitterly cold in ukraine at the moment and of course, it's christmas day, right? russia does not celebrate christmas today, but ukraine does. they switched to the western—style calendar last year. so a really disturbing, upsetting christmas so far for ukrainians.

and as the new year approaches, will what is president zelenskyy expecting from 2025, particularly with a new president in the white house soon? yeah, that's right. of course, a lot of what happens in this country next year depends on donald trump. you know, it's interesting speaking to ukrainians. there is a note of very cautious optimism that perhaps something could change for the better under donald trump. you know, ukrainians see him as someone who likes to win, likes to do a deal, and they think that perhaps once donald trump is ensconced behind that desk in the white house, as soon as he realises that vladimir putin is in no mood whatsoever to do a deal or to enter any meaningful negotiations over ukraine, perhaps donald trump might swing his support behind kyiv. but look, the mood here is gloomy overall, right across the front line in many of the hotspots, ukraine is on the defensive. russian forces are advancing. in the last few days they've

seized a number of villages. they're closing in on the strategic city of pokrovsk. and the situation for ukrainian forces is incredibly difficult, indeed. it's interesting that that city of pokrovsk president zelensky mentioned it in his christmas message last night, because there was a famous ukrainian composer from there that composed a christmas song that many of us know very well, carol of the bells. and president zelensky said that when people listen to that song this year, they should remember ukraine. here in the uk, king charles is expected to refer to his own cancer treatment during his traditional christmas message later today. in the past few minutes we saw this footage of king charles and camilla at sandringham. the royal family are expected to attend church at sandringham this morning , but prince andrew will not bejoining them. this is the scene live, so many

people waiting, as they do every christmas morning, to see them attend. prince andrew, a notable absence, though. our correspondent charlotte gallagher at sandringham has more. hundreds of people are here now to see the royal family. many of them arrived in the early hours of this morning. some even brought sleeping bags. it was still dark when they got here. people have brought flasks of coffee, tea, presents to give to the royals as well. i'm joined by two of them. this is shelly and lynn. hello. why did you decide to come here today? um, i was spending christmas on my own, and i wanted to turn a negative into a positive. and i wanted to be here, really, for catherine and charles because of the journey that they've had. and i think at this moment in time, it's so fast. and that's what the country needs. it needs a bit of positivity and it's great to come down here. we both come down really early. we've both travelled and it's a great atmosphere, an opportunity to have

something positive. and how about you? why did you decide to come down? i've always supported the royal family and i take something off my bucket list, which hopefully i will do today by coming here. it's always been on the bucket list. so yeah, that's the reason i'm here. and how did your husband react when you said you were going to norfolk to spend christmas? uh, well, he wasn't it wasn't wasn't the reaction i was hoping for. but he's ok with it now. he's in the background. he won't come. he's camera shy? yes. and who are the flowers for? these are for any of the royals that come across hopefully anybody that would want to to receive them. i'd be happy to pass them on. and it's a really nice atmosphere in the queue, isn't it? you two have been speaking. people make friends. they share stories, don't they? to be honest, i think this is what what's needed. we are all here for one purpose and it is all positive. everybody�*s bubbly, it's

christmas day and hey, it's a great opportunity and we've met yourself. thank you. and you've got to get to meet bigger vips soon as well. yeah. and who are you most looking forward to seeing? probably william. william and kate. and have a lovely day, ladies. and i want to show you two very, very cute well—wishers. this is peanut and coco. hello, doggies. hello. definitely not camera shy. aren't they gorgeous? and this is the owner here. hello. hello, how are you? why did you decide to come down today? well, i've always wanted to do this. it's been on my bucket list for years and years and years. and my children are grown now, so i thought best to do it before i turned 50. and you've brought your doggie children with you? i brought my babies with me. and i thought i'd bring them to where they travel in style. so i brought them in their pram, which is obviously, you know, royal and dress them up for the occasion as well.

are you hoping that their outfits might attract oh, god. absolutely. these dogs, nobody can walk past them without saying hello. so that would be a bonus. they have been getting a lot of attention in. absolutely. and she actually thinks she's the queen. she wants she's trying to get in front of the camera. yeah, yeah. that's her. that's coco. who are you most looking forward to seeing? oh, my god, ithink charles the king. yeah, definitely. i've never met him in person. he's had a tough year as well. yeah. so i think this will be a nice turnout for them all. and it will be a big, you know, positive boost for everybody. have a lovely christmas. and you and you. thank you so much. and i'm sure we'll see a bit more of peanut and cocoa later on the news cameras because like we've said, they've been getting a lot of attention. everyone wants a photo with these two gorgeous christmas dogs. charlotte gallagher, we will be

back at sandringham when the royals arrived for church. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

the war in gaza has led to heavily muted christmas celebrations in bethlehem for a second consecutive year. festivities in the historic square of the church of the nativity were reduced to a prayer service, with no christmas lights or the famous christmas tree, in the place of jesus christ's birth. it comes as israel intensifies its attacks in gaza. the territory's health ministry reports: three hospitals in the north were targeted earlier on tuesday, forcing patients to evacuate. and sirens could be heard overnight in tel aviv as the israeli military reports intercepting a missile fired from yemen. there are no reports that anyone was injured. our correspondent, emir nader, has the latest on the situation in northern gaza. we've had various warnings and sort of the alarm being raised in the past hours, including

regarding those three hospitals you mentioned in an area of northern gaza, which has essentially been under a near—total military siege, as says the un in recent weeks, in particular, there is three hospitals there, one called the indonesian hospital, which was forced to evacuate yesterday, leaving all of the stuff and nearly all of the staff in patients to have to leave that facility. the idf, the israeli military, said that they were conducting military operations against hamas militants that were operating in the vicinity of the hospital and two other hospitals in that very critical area. one, called the kamal adwan hospital, they've been reporting being attacked directly by israeli forces in recent days there, including the director of the hospital has said that their icu unit has been attacked.

and this morning we've also had a statement from the united nations who've talked about, since the beginning of december, their attempts to try and get aid into this really blockaded part of northern gaza and the struggles that they've faced, including applying for the permission for 52 deliveries to get through and only being granted four deliveries, each one of which was impeded. so there are great worries about the 10,000 to 15,000 gazans' that remain in that area, their ability to access food and also their ability to access medical treatments. now, the israeli military has said that it is continuing to facilitate aid to that part of northern gaza as its military operations are continuing to be conducted in the area.

usually, at christmas there would be no rooms available in bethlehem, which christians believe to be the birthplace ofjesus christ. but for the second year running, the streets are nearly empty as tourists are mostly staying away and public festivities have been cancelled because of the gaza war. dr bernard sabella, the former executive secretary of the department of the middle east council of churches and a retired professor of sociology at bethlehem university, reflected on the muted celebrations in bethlehem this year. bethlehem is a sad town these days because of the ongoing war. continuing war over a year now and with thousands of children really killed at the latest estimate, there are 20,000 children orphaned in the gaza strip. and so the situation is sad. and outwardly, publicly, we as palestinian christians

cannot celebrate with joy happiness of christmas. but we do celebrate in our homes, as you see behind me this christmas tree. and we do givejoy to our children and the churches. all of the churches have wonderful celebrations within the churches, so inside we celebrate. outside we are sad with our people. a palestinian christian in jerusalem. a palestinian christian injerusalem. at least two journalists and a police officer have been killed in haiti as gang members opened fire at the country's biggest public hospital. the journalists were waiting for the arrival of the health minister for the reopening of the general hospital when the shooting began. several people were injured. today might be christmas day,

but it is also the first day of the jewish festival of hanukkah. commonly known as christmukkah, it celebrates two festivals of great miracles in both religions, meaning a day of epic celebrations for mixed jewish—christian families. tamzin kraftman reports. christmukkah, once a joke made byjews in largely christian countries, has become a reality for many across the world. as for the first time in almost 20 years, christmas and hanukkah are falling on the same day. it's a chance for this multi—faith family, who grew up observing separate religions, to come together and share their cultural traditions. growing up in a country like england, not celebrating christmas, it's actually been quite fun to do some of the things that everyone else was doing growing up that you were sometimes missing out on. so it's been really fun to be able to lean into some of those things. so what does it mean to actually be able to celebrate the holidays together? it's quite...it's quite exciting for us.

we've tried to incorporate kind of hanukkah decorations into our kind of christmas decorations. it's been nice, kind of trying to bring elements of hanukkah into christmas for us. you have a young daughter. what does it mean to be able to celebrate the holidays all together? we want to give her the chance to kind of access any aspect of her identity. so if she, you know, that's completely her choice. i visited saint cyprian's church in central london, where i met with the co—directors of the council of christians and jews, an organisation that works to support interfaith relations. it's been increasingly challenging in interfaith spheres over the past year or so, and it's more and more important that we continue to come together, to celebrate together, to grieve together, to share what we have in common, but also to explore our difference. what's most important really is, you know, creating spaces where we can better

understand one another, where we can build stronger relationships and friendships and learn more about and with one another. it's been a tough year for interfaith relations in general. it's been a year we've seen a real surge in anti—semitism and in other forms of racial and religious prejudice. it's been a really hard year in lots of ways. and it's good to have something to celebrate and good to have something to just get our minds off some of the more difficult news stories that are out there. yes, please. i've come to north london to meet onejewish baker who's commemorated this unique union of the two festivals in the best way she knows how. so what i do is i take the best elements from both kind of traditional foods and i blend them. so what we have over here is our stollen. so stollen is traditionally a german christmas bread, but we make a lighter version. so we use our hollow which we are famous for our hollow.

also we have over here mince pie doughnuts, which people like, theyjust love so much. so that's what we do. we're really good at blending traditions. happy christmukkah! it'll be 16 years until the next one. tamzin kraftman, bbc news. our bbc russia editor steve rosenberg has played many stunning musical tributes for us over the years and today is no exception. this year, he's joined forces with channel a's ciaranjenkins on cello to perform a special christmas collaboration. here's steve to tell us more. i'm not reporting today. i'm playing — the piano, as you can see. a special musical christmas collaboration. me in moscow and, back in the uk, ciaranjenkins from channel a news on the cello. here is our version of in the bleak midwinter. merry christmas.

that was lovely... a wonderful collaboration for christmas. let's have a peep at what is going on outside the church in sandringham. crowds are waiting for the royals as they go in to the traditional christmas service, we will be back there when they do.

hello again, and a very merry christmas. i hope you're having a lovely day now. weather—wise, we've got weather fronts out in the atlantic being effectively blocked by an area of high pressure across us. now that high pressure has the wind around it moving in a clockwise direction, so it's dragging in all this milder air across our shores, but also a fair bit of cloud coming in from the atlantic. but also a fair bit of cloud so it's a fairly cloudy day for many, especially so in some western areas where it's murky as well. we've got some hill fog, some of that cloud thick enough for some drizzly bits and pieces as well. and we've got the weather front draped across the northwest of scotland, which is introducing rain and windy conditions. but we should see some brighter breaks develop in the east and also in the shelter of the hills across the west midlands, northeast wales. temperatures 11 to 13, but we could see 1a around the moray firth. now, through this evening and overnight, our weather front sinks a bit further south across scotland into northern ireland. there'll be some breaks in the cloud, but by the end of the night the cloud will be thickening across southern parts of england.

still windy across the far northwest. and as a result of all of this, it's going to be a relatively mild night for the time of year. the overnight low in glasgow and also belfast not falling lower than ten degrees. so into boxing day, here's our weather front. it sinks a bit further south, but it is then going to start to retreat northwards. so the rain on it moves across scotland, potentially into northern england in through northern ireland, and starts to move north. to the south of that, we'll see the cloud build and there will be one or two brighter breaks, but essentially it's a mild day, not quite as mild as today but nonetheless mild for the time of year as we head on into friday. our weather front continues to migrate northwards and westwards across the northwest of scotland again. another fairly cloudy day with a few brighter breaks. temperatures varying from seven to about 12 degrees. beyond that, the weather turns a little bit more unsettled as we head into the weekend. we've got a weather front coming in from the west that's crossing south with its rain.

you can see it still remains relatively mild, but as we head up towards the new year, the forecast is split. one model has it turning mild, another one has it turning very unsettled and cooler. so it's one to watch. and if you want to find out what the weather is going to be like where you are, don't forget you can always check out the bbc weather app.

now on bbc news — a look back at the royal year. a year like no other. first the king, then the princess of wales diagnosed with cancer. this, of course, came as a huge shock, and william and i have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family. good man, this one. prince william called it the hardest year of his life, supporting his wife and family while flying the flag for britain abroad, honouring the fallen on the beaches of normandy 80 years on from d—day. and harry, the party prince, back in the uk.