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small businesses to major corporation -- corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc newsnight." >> spreading the news of christmas, the pope celebrates mass in the vatican. and gbagbo threatened if he doesn't step down as president. and explosions around the volatile nigerian city of jos. also coming up, transit turmoil. travelers bed down at the airport after snow and ice grounds flights all over europe. lights, cameras, i do? we take a look at chinese couples starring in -- celebrating weddings by starring in their very own on-screen romance.

>> the pope has been celebrating midnight masses at st. peter's bass i will -- basilica in the vat i can anl. the pope prayed for peace amid heightened security. >> pope benedict xvi arrived at st. peter's basilica in rome amid tight security. last year at the same marx a woman jumped the barriers and lunged at the pontiff. this year it's seemingly been trouble-free with around 10,000 people attending the traditional christmas mass. the pope prayed for peace. >> we are grateful that god gives himself into our hands as a child, begging as it were for our love, implanting his peace

in our hearts. but this joy is also a prayer. lord, make your promise come fui true. break the rods of the 0 pressors. burnt tramping boots. let the time of the garments rolled in blood come to an end. >> earlier in heavy rain the pope lit a candle if his window overlooking st. peter's square to officially open the vatican's nativity scene. police among the crowds were on high letter also because of two parcel bombs sent to embassies in the capital estimate >> i felt really good, i felt secure in the city seeing the police around. so no, i haven't felt threatened in any way. >> later on saturday the pope

will deliver his christmas message to the city of rome and the rest of the world, then he will host a christmas lunch for hundreds of homeless people. >> meanwhile, christians around the world have gathered at the traditional scene of the navetity, in bethlehem. a record in of tourists and pilgrims have into the occupied west bank town. visitors are bouncing back after a decade of violence that left bethlehem virtually deserted at christmas. hundreds have crammed into the historic cathedral in beijing. crowds who couldn't get inside stood outside to watch the celebration on two large screens. although christmas isn't a

public holiday in crine -- china, it's increasingly recognized as a religious and commercial event. west african regional leaders have worned incumbent ivory coast president laurent gbagbo to stand down or expect to face legitimate force. our report from the main estimate >> after days of standoff, he is trying to up the pressure on laurent gbagbo. he spoke from the lagoon site where he remains holed up.

the man endorsed as the new president of ivory coast has accused his opponent, laurent gbagbo of violence. he said he called on the international criminal court to send investigators to the country. the address came at the same time as an emergency meeting by the west african body during which neighboring countries warned mr. gbagbo he -- they would use force if he doesn't leave power himself. >> by his intrance igence, mr. gbagbo risks exposing our country to new violence. i would like to ask him a last time to accept the choice of the people by leaving power immediately. >> gbagbo has repeated that the

country's sovereignty wasn't negotiable. one of his cabinet members said from his reaction the preliminary stalemate remains. >> here's a roundup of other stories from around the globe. from ecuador more than 30 people have been killed after a bus they were on plunged off a mountain in soggy conditions. more than 20 people were also injured after a 350-meter mumet down the side of a ravine. heavy rain has brought further devastates in parts -- devastation in parts of colombia. at least 1 people have been killed in a southwestern town of la cruz. colombia sl enduring its rainiest season in 40 years. the lower house of the russian government, the dump.

ma, has ratified the -- parts of the start treaty but officials decided two more readings were necessary. the leader of byelorusse has been declared the winive of an election condemned by international monitors. his nearest challenger won just 2% and was basket -- beaten and jailed after the election. carol-singing protesters gathered outside the prison where he is being held. at least five people have been killed in blasts in or near the town of jos in stram nigeria. one was a primarily haasa neighborhood, the other from a different community.

sectarian violence has claimed hundreds of lives there were -- there year. >> authorities thirms there had been an explosion right outside jos town on friday evening. i spoke to the police commander but they didn't want to say much about who was behind the attack i guess until they have investigated further. we have heard reports of other blasts but those have yet to be confirmed. jos has seen clashes in recent times between indigenous christian and muslim groups and it's created a tense atmosphere in what was once one of the most peaceful towns in nigeria. >> a blast. in the southern philippines wounded at least six people, including the priest holding the have.

-- the service. snow is continuing to paralyze transport in parts of western europe. 2,000 people were evacuated from the main paris airport because of too much snow on the radio. icy conditions also disrupt travel in other countries. >> christmas 2010 at charles degaulle airport. once again beds and blankets have been brought in for stranded passengers. >> we've been asked to arrange basic comdation for people stuck in the airport tonight. many don't have hotel rooms or relatives live is close by. >> the authorities say there is a shortage of de-icer. to add to their problems, passengers were also asked to leave part of a terminal earlier while staff removed heavy snow from the roof. it was a precautionary measure

because in 2004 parts of the roof collapsed. >> i'm very tired at the moment, tired and worried, especially for the babies because they haven't slept well. we flew for 13 hours and now have to sit on seats. >> >> companies have apologized to the passengers and staff. >> i must say how sorry i am to all our passengers and staff for the problems this snow has created. i have not seen anything like this in 10 years but we're dominican everything week -- we can to get things moving. >> at brussels, there was a similar delay. only one runway was open and this meant few incoming planes could land. >> despite all our efforts, there is nothing we can change about the fact that there is snow all over europe. even if flights can take off to

other airports they won't necessarily be able to land at the airport. >> some people gave up all hope of a family reunion. >> first time in my life i wanted to spend christmas with any grandchildren and i can't do it now and it's bad. i'm really upset about it. >> authorities in southwestern poland warned of delays because of heavy fog. at one point visibility dropped to 200 meters. there is little cheer for passengers facing the prospect of spenked christmas day at an parent terminal. jane francis kelly, bbc news. >> the bad weather isn't the only thing bringing belgium to a standstill. the king has called for an end to political deadlock more than six months after an inconclusive election. there is a deep divide again --

between the dutch and french-speaking parts of the pap -- population. the crip awaits the decision of an appointed mediator. >> still to come, it's a time that brings families together and for britain's most famous family it's no different. in britain a man's been arrested after a woman was killed by a dog in south london. police found barbara williams struggling with the animal and had it take it off her. >> the collapsible cage being brought out of a semidetached house today one of a number of items removed as a police investigation team tries to establish how a why a woman was apparently mauled to death in her own home. when officers arrived last night, barbara williams was trying desperately to free herself from the jaws of what's

being describeds a huge and ferocious dog. >> they immediately attempted to rescue her involving the yuse of shields and managed to contain the ferocious dog in another part of the premises. >> the police haven't established the exact breed of the dog, but it's said to have been a belgian mastiff. neighbors said he had raised concerns about the dog the >> a few times it climbed over the fence and we had raised concerns about the family and the local police and also the local authorities. >> miss williams was well known and well liked in her community. she'd been in the local news agency just hours before the attack. >> very friendly lady. always joking around. she would send money back to jamaica. >> it took police marksmen four

bullets to kill the dog. people have been laying flowers outside in memory of a popular neighbor. the man believed to own the dog is alex blackburn smith and police have urged him to contact them. he's being questioned on suspicion of manslaughter. >> you're watching bbc nusms the headlines this hour -- pope benedict xvi has let the world's roman catholics into the christmas season with a special mass. west. african leaders threaten force against gbagbo if he doesn't step down as the ivory coast president. in britain the queen and oop members of the royal family are spending christmas day at sandringham in norfolk. prince william won't be there as he is on duty with the

rescue squad. kate middleton, whom he is to marry next year, is spending christmas with her family. >> the -- prince william will be absent this year. he's on call this christmas with his search and rescue squadron at r.a.f. valley on anglesea. and zara philips is thought to be spending christmas with her fiance in gloucester shie. kate middleton is spend s christmas for the probably the last time at her family's. next year, of course, she will be spending it with the royal family. the -- >> in the parks of towns and cities and on village greens up and down the country, countless

thousands of people every week give up their time every week to participate in sport and exercise of all sports. or simply encourage others to do so. these kinds of activity are common throughout the world and play a part in providing a different perspective on life. >> the choice of subject matter for the christmas broadcast is very much a matter for the queen herself. it generally has a strong religious flavor and in past years also paid tribute to the armed forces. >> police in india ha -- have raided the homes and offices of the chief organizers of the delhi commonwealth games following allegations of corruption. the properties were raided in dellly and a western city which he represents in parliament. this after the budget for the games reached $15 million up from an estimated $412 million.

we report from dellly. >> the raids took place on five different properties. india's top police force looking for evidence of corruption in the issuance of contracts to private kmeds -- companies. this is the man temperature center of it all. he insists he's innocent. he says he never took any decision as loan, also that he only ever had control of thee to four% of the -- 3% to 4% of the total budget and he's refusing to be the scapegomente we don't know what evidence these raids have uncovered but it essential gained publicity because over the last months the government has faced a huge amount of criticism for presiding over a massive corruption scanlt there have

been allegations that $40 billion were lost in the issuing of mobile phone licenses. the opposition is using the issue of corruption to take on the government, which until recently was feeling pretty confident. the commonwealth games changed all that. they were supposed to be india's chance to show off for the world. instead they showed off its old weaknesses. >> now, if you think some of the greatest stresses at christmas come in the kitchen, spare a thought for the master chef looking for -- after british troops in afghanistan much the kitchen there will be working overtime serving more than 4,000 meals. >> we're here in the main kitchens at camp bastian in hell mund province. on christmas day there are going to be something like 4,000 meals prepared that day

and the man in charge is the master chef. thanks very much far -- for taking the time today. how much turkey, how much beef, how much is going to be prepared for the troops on christmas day? >> for the christmas dinner we're looking at nearly eight tons of turkey, eight tons be each. and the main focus will be on the fresh vegetables. there's a lot of spices to be prepared. >> so a big task for christmas dinner, but for you you have an entirely different task. going to be a long day forum. >> coming in round about 3 or 4:30 and work through about 1630 in the evening. a good 12-hour shift. >> now, of course, it's a very stressful time for you in the kitchen but the thing to

remember about all these troops, it will be dry. no alcohol served with the christmas meal. >> a lot of work in that christmas meal. now, in sorts, the fourth ashford cricket test will get underway on boxing day in melbourne. ricky punting sustained a groken finger during a set. our correspondent reports from melbourne. >> this is one of the world's great sporting arenas. quiet now but on boxing day we'll have a world record. the biggest crowd ever to waft a test map was when 8,391 watched the first dave the test match between australia and the west indies. this is a series which is very much alive. the main talking points at the moment the fitness of the

australian captain, who brokey finger during that test match in perth. hemont batted in the buildup to this match until today, so all eyes were on him. he batted for about an hour this morning and as far as we could see, didn't suffer any discomfort. a changeup weeks ago, everyone had all but written off this team, but it's back on all because of the way the australians performed in perth. >> if we're at our best, we can beat any team in the world, especially in these conditions, our home conditions. we're looking forward to the match. we know it's a big test. we'll be doing everything we can to win this test match. >> as for england. they've had a few days of off train -- days off training but they had a few days training here. the series is so close, there

is so much anticipation ahead of the match. >> it's a huge opportunity and i'm sure many around the world would love to have the opportunity to play in front of such a crowd. they realize the task at hand and playing in a match on boxing day. >> one of the main talking points has been the choice of pits by the grounds crew. one inspection today left this man quite enthused. he said it could be made for graham spun, who could find conditions much more to his liking here at the m.c.g.d.. >> how do you make sure your wedding is more memorable than anyone else's? in china some people are spending huge amounts on the

banquets, cars and of course the pictures but the latest fad for newlyweds to well -- really want to make a slash is to hire a team which promises you turn you into a star. >> film director l lee liliang shooting in shanghai. the actors? paying him to create, recreate romance. >> normally the lovers tell us their story and we geve it an artistic story. most of the time they're real stories. we just need to reproduce the surroundings and tell the couple how to perform. >> every bride wants to look her best. in china they shoot formal wedding portraits before the big day so that every detail is perfect. but for this -- some this isn't enough. for middle class families with money to spend, this is the way to make a wedding standout.

why shoot boring conventional photographs when you can hire a crew and make your own movie? and this is what you get, a music video that chronicles your courtship. ♪ >> der:00ek chen is ray tax consultant, his wife a lawyer. they worked for weeks on this tale of their university romance, and it ends on the day he asked her to marry him, spelling out his message with photos on the wall. >> it was a romantic proposal last february. we think maybe we can just keep a record of it and show our sweetness to everybody during the wedding smoinlt >> they screened it as they walked down the aisle. adding drama to what was already a big event.

for the money -- moneyed middle class here, wedding are the way to show you have made it and the movies add a touch of glamour. >> finally, santa made an early appearance in washington, d.c. friday. his arrival was anything but traditional. instead of his sleigh he water-skied down the poet omak. it's the 25th year in a row anta -- santa has delighted hundreds of people. naturally he did bring his trusty reindeer with him and frosty the snowman made an appearance. a reminder of our main news. -- news. pope benedict xvi has led the world's roman catholics into the christmas season way special mass in rome.

west african leaders have west african leaders have delivered a