the defence ministry spokesman, this is the defence ministry, said they had launched what they calledttacks. so far, we haven't heard any confirmation about casualties but one source reported is saying that there was one soldier killed and six others injured. it has triggered tensions between the two forces across the border, particularly in the province. as said, what happened was that 46 people were killed when they carried out air strikes. the militants who had been targeting it insecurity in the province so that has resulted in a war of wills between the two sides because kabul always denied the accusations that it was harbouring any insurgents carrying out attacks on pakistani security forces. this is also led to people fleeing because of this escalating tensions in the province. here in the uk, airline passengers across the country are facing delays of up to several hours as thick fog which led to dozens of cancellations and delays across uk airports on friday continues. 0ur news correspondent barry caffrey has the latest from gatwick airport. there is significant disruption her

syria's defence ministry said syrian and russian warplanes were bombarding the rebels.st correspondent lina sinjab. it is nearly a week since the offensive started and now we are hearing confirmation that the rebels are in control of several towns on the outskirts of the city hama, especially to the northern side of hama. i've spoken to some residents who fled the area and they have said the opposition forces are in control. the government are being defeated. although there are reports that suggest that the government has done a counteroffensive overnight. but still haven't been able to regain control over the towns and cities that the rebels have controlled on the outskirts of the city of hama. these operations are happening in the northern part of the city while the government still has control of the main city of hama and its southern parts as well. and more broadly, what is the aim of the rebels here? well, this is a time where assad's allies are weakened, iran and hezbollah are weakened, russia is busy in ukraine as well, so they have seized the opportunity to adva

the defence ministry spokesman, this is the defence ministry, said they had launched what they calledaven�*t heard any confirmation about casualties but one source reported is saying that there was one soldier killed and six others injured. it has triggered tensions between the two forces across the border, particularly in the province. as said, what happened was that 46 people were killed when they carried out air strikes. the militants who had been targeting it insecurity in the province so that has resulted in a war of wills between the two sides because kabul always denied the accusations that it was harbouring any insurgents carrying out attacks on pakistani security forces. this is also due to people fleeing because of this escalating tensions in the province. how does this latest incident fit into the bigger - picture of the tension between these two neighbours?- after the taliban took over in august 2021, when they seized power, since then the relations between islamabad and kabul have deteriorated. previously, everyone was talking about how pakistan was providing sanctuary. t

the defence ministry spokesman, this is the defence ministry, said they had launched what they calleden�*t heard any confirmation about casualties but for one source reported as saying that there was one soldier killed and six others injured. it has triggered tensions between the two forces across the border, particularly in the province. as said, what happened was that 46 people were killed when they carried out air strikes. the militants who had been targeting it insecurity in the province so that has resulted in a war of wills between the two sides because campbell always denied the accusations that it was harbouring any insurgents carrying out attacks on pakistani security forces. this is also due to people fleeing because of this escalating tensions in the province. escalating tensions in the province-— escalating tensions in the rovince. ., , province. how does this latest incident fit _ province. how does this latest incident fit into _ province. how does this latest incident fit into the _ province. how does this latest incident fit into the bigger - incident fit into the bigg

a spokesman from the taliban—run defence ministry said several points were targeted in, what he termedcomes days after kabul said 46 people were killed in pakistani air strikes inside afghan territory. more than 1,000 critically endangered snails, some of which were bred in captivity here in the uk, have been released onto a remote portuguese island. the desertas island land snails were believed to be extinct until an expedition team discovered a tiny native population, and set about growing their numbers. our science correspondent victoria gill has more. this is a story with some very tiny main characters. these are desertas island land snails. they were rescued from the brink of extinction and brought here to chester zoo, where they�*ve been living and breeding inside this converted shipping container. these were snails at risk of extinction or thought to be actually extinct in the wild, so we were lucky enough to have them brought to us, and this is where we�*ve managed to breed up from very low numbers to what we have here today, which is almost 1,400 snails ready for release. ther

syria's defence ministry said syrian and russian warplanes were bombarding the rebels.e response from government aligned forces. it's been one week since rebel forces launched their largest offensive against the syrian government in years. here is the government response in idlib, a rebel stronghold where syria and its ally russia have carried out air strikes. the bbc verify has been tracking the advance of rebel forces from the west of syria by analysing footage on social media. they appear to have captured a large area of land across the north—west of the country, including most of aleppo. the offensive was launched on the night by an alliance of rebel groups led by a rebel group. our team is verified and located several videos which show rebel forces. this is one video that emerged as they began their advance. it was geolocated by matching the shape of these buildings with what we can see on publicly available images. and the shadows indicate it was likely filmed around 5p on local time. the rebels reach aleppo quickly, injust three days they enter the city with appa

it's owned by russia's defence ministry, and is the subject of us—imposed sanctions.sued in the australian state of victoria as officials warn of extreme bush fire risk across the south east of the country. temperatures were forecast to reach up to a0 degrees celsius. emergency services are currently battling a growing blaze at the grampians national park which has been burning for around a week, consuming about 500 square kilometres of forested land. some residents have been evacuated and others are being urged to take cover. let's speak to our correspondent in sydney, phil mercer. so phil, a worrying scene there, especially at the grampians national park. any sign the emergency services have these fires under control? no, not in the grampians national park. this is a beautiful area of the state of victoria, about a three—hour drive to the north—west of the state capital, melbourne. and communities around the grampians national park have in the last few hours grampians national park have in the last few ho

meanwhile, south korea's defence ministry says it has suspended three senior commanders involved in the chief presenter, steve lai who was outside the national assembly with our asia correspondent, rupert wingfield—hayes. it has just it hasjust gone it has just gone past 6pm in sole. you mentioned the leader of the ruling people power party, han dong—hoon, he has withdrawn his support for president yoon. he did that this morn. he met with the president earlier. according to media reports here, han said that he had urged yoon to address the public. the president has not made any public appearance or statement since he withdrew that declaration of martial law on wednesday. apparently yoon has declined to make any comments, saying it was not time yet. well if the president isn't going to speak, we know the protesters will make their voices heard, as we can hear now. they're set to hold a rally, tens of thousands are expected on the streets tomorrow, that is all leading up tomorrow, that is all leading up to this impeachment vote thatis up to this impeachment vote that is scheduled for 7pm

the syrian defence ministry said dozens of rival fighters had been killed. says it's preparing a counter—offensive . barbara plett usher has more, and a warning: her report contains images of children in distress. they are alive, rescued from the wreckage moments after the bombs struck. footage posted by the syrian civil defence group at the white helmets shows the aftermath of an attack on the rebel stronghold of idlib, south—west of aleppo. the regime is fighting back. thousands of people have been displaced, fleeing aleppo and areas around idlib stop their lives certainly upended by this escalation in syria's civil war. translation: we are following the news and god willing - the regime will fall. we camp night and day to return as the kids are tired and shocked. we left and came here in our clothes and nothing else. the speedy capture of aleppo took everyone by surprise, devastating blow to the regime. the rebels continued their advance, but here the city is coming to terms with a new normal. some are fearful of the antigovernment rebels, but so far peop

talking about this in public because he decided this in cahoots with a few of his friends from the defence ministrybeen with him for a while, and i think this was really thrown together at the last minute because there is a lot of evidence from the crew itself, or the insurrection or whatever this is, it was very inept, it was not well organised —— coup. there was little contact and co—ordination with the police who seem to be at odds with the military, there was no plan at all to control the crowd, to take major intersections, to take major intersections, to take the airport, if this was a coup it was a really, really inept one which tells me that present yoon just through this together at the last minute. and i think that is why he is not talking about it, big because itjust happened and he didn't really know what he had walked into. we didn't really know what he had walked into.— walked into. we have about a minute left — walked into. we have about a minute left but _ walked into. we have about a minute left but you _ walked into. we have about a| minute left but you mentioned this people power

speaker of the parliament, has sent the letters to both the president yoon, and the military, the defence ministryiately lift the martial law as stated. but law also states that it is the president's job to lift the martial law, and he is in fact the commander in chief. so the military legally will have to listen to the president. so they're simply looking at the president's lips, and the ball is squarely in yoon�*s court. and i think this had been pointed out before, but yoon had played a very high stakes game here. i mean, even if he lifts the martial law now, there is no going back to where we were yesterday. so this is now or neverfor yoon. and he is facing possible the i—word, the impeachment. let mejust bring let me just bring you some reaction from the government here in the uk, british government saying it's deeply concerned about the events unfolding in south korea and calling for a peaceful and lawful resolution to the situation, and as a i'lljust tell you of little bit more about the government here saying, we can bring you these live pictures from the streets of seoul, it'sjust live pi

russia has used artillery and ballistic missiles, according to ukraine's defence ministry. been damaged, leaving thousands without public transport and electricity. michael bociurkiw is a senior fellow at the atlantic council. he gave his analysis on the russian strike on ukraine. in a war where several red lines have already been crossed, this should be regarded as a pretty big one. i spoke to contacts in kyiv today and they said this was different than anything else they have experienced in terms of the power of the vibrations that they felt deep down in bomb shelters. but in terms of where it struck, this is the heart of the international business community in kyiv, the wall street if you will, and i hope that the business community will see it that way, that a red line has been crossed. maybe for the time being, deemphasise the reinvestment of rebuilding ukraine and focus more on how to push russia back before more damage is done. ramp up the sanctions a lot more, push ahead with war crimes prosecutions and very importantly not allow ukraine to be pushed into negotiatio

agreement with former rebel faction chiefs to dissolve all groups and consolidate them under the defence ministryd year in bethlehem. 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. 0ur correspondent emir nader is in bethlehem — where he says few have come to mark the birth ofjesus. it is quite incredible to be here as the world begins to celebrate christmas and to see bethlehem looking so quiet for the second year in a row. usually by this time, the main square here, manger square, would be full of children, marching bands, processions. we can see the 1,700—year—old church of the nativity, wherejesus is believed to have been born. usually we would see pilgrims from around the world that would have travelled here to take part, tourists from around the world, but the hotels are empty and many of the shops are shut. that is because many of the people have the war on their mind which is going on in the palestinian te

the defence ministry described the attacks — which happened near the border with burkina faso — as barbaricead. ten nigerien soldiers were killed in the same region wednesday, in what the country's army described as a terrorist attack. following the bbc�*s reporting of that incident, the ruling militaryjunta said it was banning bbc radio from broadcasting in nigerfor three months. it had already banned french broadcasters, under similar accusations. niger is one of three countries in africa's sahel region now under military rule — alongside burkina faso and mali. the trio have formed an alliance, the association of sahel states, opposing france's influence in the region while welcoming warmer relations with russia. the countries are due to withdraw from the regional union ecowas injanuary though this week senegal�*s president said he's making progress in negotiations to dissuade them from leaving the bloc. ambassador tibor nagy served as assistant secretary of state for african affairs under the last trump administration. we spoke a short time ago. thank you for your time. first of all, wha

the syrian defence ministry said dozens of rival fighters had been killed.eported, including in aleppo, which has fallen to the rebels. the syrian army says it's preparing a counteroffensive. barbara plett usher has more, and a warning — her report contains images of children in distress. they are alive. rescued from the wreckage moments after the bombs struck. footage posted by the syrian civil defence group, the white helmets, shows the aftermath of an attack on the rebel stronghold of idlib, southwest of aleppo. the regime is fighting back. thousands of people had been displaced, fleeing aleppo and areas around idlib. their lives certainly upended by this escalation in syria's civil war. translation: we are - following the news and god willing the regime will fall. we count night and day to return as the kids are tired and shocked. we left and came here in our clothes and nothing else. the speedy capture of aleppo took everyone by surprise, a devastating blow to the regime. the rebels continued theiradvance, but here the city is coming to terms with a new

the syrian defence ministry said russian and syrian warplanes were bombarding rebels.n president assad's grip on power. i'mjoined by president assad's grip on power. i'm joined by the spokesperson for the white helmets, a volunteer civil defence group operating in syria. great to have you on the programme. many thanks for your time. the syrian conflict, amidst everything else that's been going on in the middle east, is something of a forgotten conflict. what's been happening on the ground, and how many casualties are you seeing? how many casualties are you seeinu ? ., , ., how many casualties are you seeinu ? .,, ., ., seeing? over the last four or five days. — seeing? over the last four or five days, the _ seeing? over the last four or five days, the death - seeing? over the last four or five days, the death toll- seeing? over the last four or five days, the death toll has| five days, the death toll has reached more than 100 civilian casualties, and the injured is more than 300, including children and women. four hospitals are out of service because of the bombing in

the defence ministry in damascus says russian and syrian warplanes have conducted more air strikes onhe northern idlib and hama provinces. a monitoring group said russian strikes in the city of idlib killed eight civilians and targeted a camp for displaced people. civilian casualties have also been reported in air strikes on aleppo, a city which has fallen to the rebels. president bashar al—assad has vowed to use force to eliminate what he called terrorism and the army says it's recaptured several of the towns that had been overrun. barbara plett usher has the latest. fighting back against the rebels, a surprising strike. the escalation in syria's civil war has a prize fighters on both sides. thousands of people have been displaced, fleeing the area. their lives upended by the rebels renewed battles against the regime. we are following the bad news and god willing the regime will fall. we pray night and day to return. the speedy capture of aleppo took everyone by surprise. the rebels continue theiradvance, but the city is coming to terms with a new normal. a chance for those driven of

new leaders claim all armed rebel factions have agreed to integrate under the control of the defence ministrytions, which control large parts of northeastern syria weren't among them. the country's new de facto leader, ahmed al—sharaa, said the government would take control of all weapons in the country. he said that also applied to the main kurdish—led faction, the sdf. those forces have continued to fight other rebel groups backed by turkiye. on tuesday, us secretary of defense, lloyd austin, held talks with his turkish counterpart, yashar guler, about the situation in syria. in a statement, the us department of defense said, "secretary austin emphasized that close and continuous "coordination is crucial to maintaining the ongoing "success of the d—isis mission." the secretary and minister guler also discussed the importance of setting the conditions to enable a more secure and stable syria. on tuesday, officials deployed heavy security around christian churches in damascus, as the capital marks its first christmas under new leadership. bells toll armed fighters and civil defense teams surr

an agreement with rebel faction leaders to dissolve all groups and consolidate them under the defence ministryave set fire to a christmas tree in a christian—majority town in hama province.the ruling faction, hts, said the men responsible for burning the tree in suqay—labiyah had been detained. it described them as foreign fighters. local firefighters put out the blaze after the gunmen left. the arson attack sparked protests by christians across syria, demanding that the country's new rulers protect religious minorities. syria is home to many ethnic and religious groups, including kurds, armenians, assyrians, christians and druze. the islamist hts movement has promised to protect minorities since toppling president bashar al assad earlier this month. christmas celebrations are muted for a second year in bethlehem. 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. 0ur correspondent emir nader is in bethlehem — whe

it's owned by russia's defence ministry, and is the subject of us imposed sanctions.people in dozens of rural communities to leave their homes "immediately" to escape a bushfire. about 600 firefighters — according to the victoria state emergency services — are trying to control the blaze in the grampians national park. the fire has been burning for a week, and has consumed about 500 square kilometres of forested land. now, what did people here in the uk watch on christmas day? for many, the answer seems to be gavin and stacey. the show had a whopping audience of 12.32 million — making it the biggest non—sports overnight of 202a. millions tuned in for the final ever episode of the beloved british sitcom. the number doesn't include those are yet to watch the episode on catch up. wallace & gromit had the second highest overnight viewing figures — 9.38 million tuned in to watch the duo's tv return. let's speak to tv critic scott bryan. about critic scott bryan. all this. hello to you. seasons about all this. hello to you. seasons greetings to you. i was not watching it be

it's owned by russia's defence ministry, and is the subject of us imposed sanctions.s to be gavin and stacey. the show had a whopping audience of 12.32 million — making it the biggest non—sports ratings of 202a. millions tuned in for the final ever episode of the beloved british sitcom. the number doesn't include those are yet to watch the episode on catch up. wallace & gromit had the second highest overnight viewing figures — 9.38 million tuned in to watch the duo's tv return. tv critic, scott bryan told us why he thinks gavin and stacey had such high viewing figures. no spoilers i will say. this was a very much anticipated episode of gavin and stacey. of course there has been so much talk about how it was going to pass the cliffhanger from their previous special back in 2019 but i think it managed to do it brilliantly and really stick the landing and have something for absolutely everybody. and managed to have a final episode which was wrapping up all of the loose ends and providing something that was really rather special. i think the reason why these ratings were

talking about this in public because he decided this in cahoots with a few friends from the defence ministryether at the last minute because there is a lot of evidence from the coup itself or the soft coup or insurrection or whatever it is, it was in, not well organised, the plans look like they inaudible opposition figures in the media but none of that happened, little contact and co—ordination with police who seem to be at out of the military somewhat, no plan to control the crowds, take major intersections, take the airport. if this was a coup, it was a really inept one which tells me that president yoon through this together at the last minute and i think that might be why he is not talking about it because this kind of happened and he did not quite know what he let himself... walked into.— know what he let himself... walked into. ., , ,., ., walked into. professor, we have about a minute _ walked into. professor, we have about a minute but _ walked into. professor, we have about a minute but you - about a minute but you mentioned people power in south korea, the history of protest. we s

the defence ministry has been saying and claims that it has withdrawn troops from the city, it is denyingthat the regime would really want to try and protect and defend because it is very strategic. it is the main link between damascus and the rest of the country. and even as you have this advancing rebel offensive towards hama, we are also getting reports of flare—ups of violence and other parts of the country, kurdish rebels are saying they have seized a town quite far to the east, there is also reports of pockets of unrest in the south. barbara, is there a _ unrest in the south. barbara, is there a real _ unrest in the south. barbara, is there a real chance - unrest in the south. barbara, is there a real chance now . unrest in the south. barbara, l is there a real chance now that asad will be toppled? i is there a real chance now that asad will be toppled?- asad will be toppled? i think more and — asad will be toppled? i think more and more _ asad will be toppled? i think more and more people - asad will be toppled? i think more and more people are l asad will be toppled? i think- more

the meeting came as the defence ministry in damascus said russian and syrian warplanes had carried outorthern idlib and hama provinces. a monitoring group says the number of people killed since the rebel offensive began has risen to 412, including 61 civilians. many have died in air strikes on aleppo, a city which has fallen to the rebels. syria's army says it's recaptured several of the towns that had been overrun. barbara plett usher has the latest. they are alive, rescued from the wreckage moments after the bombs struck. footage posted by the syrian civil defence group, the white helmets, shows the aftermath of an attack on the rebel stronghold of idlib, south—west of aleppo. the regime is fighting back. thousands of people have been displaced, fleeing aleppo and areas around idlib. their lives certainly upended by this escalation in syria's civil war. translation: we are following the news and god willing - the regime will fall. we count night and day to return as the kids are tired and shocked. we left and came here in our clothes and nothing else. the speedy capture of aleppo too

the defence ministry in damascus says russian and syrian warplanes have conducted more air strikes onhe northern idlib and hama provinces. a monitoring group said russian strikes in the city of idlib killed eight civilians and targeted a camp for displaced people. civilian casualties have also been reported in air strikes on aleppo, a city which has fallen to the rebels. president bashar al—assad has vowed to use force to eliminate what he called terrorism and the army says it's recaptured several of the towns that had been overrun. barbara plett usher has the latest. the speedy capture of aleppo took everyone by surprise. the rebels continue their advance, but the city is coming to terms with a new normal. presidents are advised to defeat the rebels. there are different signals being sent because it seems that also from sources we have spoken to that assad had already sent messages to the turks to find a way to sit on the negotiation table. but they have not been any response. it is a sign that he is really under pressure and trying to regain control over what he has lost already. so

meanwhile, south korea's defence ministry says it has suspended three senior commanders involved in theef presenter steve lai who was outside the national assembly with our asia correspondent, rupert wingfield—hayes. it's just gone past 6pm here in seoul. you mentioned that the leader of the ruling people power party, han dong—hoon. he has, as you mentioned, publicly withdrawn his support for president yoon. he did that this morning, and he's actually met with president as well a little earlier. now, according to media reports we've been following here, han said that he had urged yoon to personally address the public. now, the president hasn't made any public appearance or any public statements since he withdrew that declaration of martial law in the early hours of wednesday. but apparently yoon has reportedly declined to make any comments today, saying it was not time yet. well, if the president isn't going to speak, we know that the protesters are certainly going to make their voices heard as we can hear right now, and they're all set to hold a very big rally. tens of thousands of peo

the syrian defence ministry said reinforcements had been sent to hama and that syrian and russian warplanesek, the rebels seized the city of aleppo week in a lightening offensive that undermined president bashar al—assad's grip on power. meanwhile, israel's military campaign in gaza continues — with medics reporting that idf strikes killed at least 23 palestinians across the strip on tuesday. most of the strikes hit gaza's north — in the town of beit lahiya and gaza city, where at least six were killed when a school being used as a shelter was struck. israeli forces also on tuesday issued fresh evacuation orders to residents in the southern city of khan younis. the un says nearly all of gaza's two point three million people are now displaced. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the british partner of former abercrombie & fitch ceo mikejeffries has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution in a new york federal court. matthew smith, along with mrjeffries, and their alleged middlemanjames jacobs

the russian defence ministry said it had swapped 150 ukrainian soldiers held captive for an equal numberom the region. what do we know about the swap? first of all, we heard from the russian ministers who said that there was an equal swap, 150 people from each side have been returned. ukrainian side, president zelensky, on his official channel, published a different number, he said that ukraine managed to return 189 people and among them are 100 107 servicemen and two civilians. they say that they were also, we can see some stills and some moving images of those people shared by the ukrainian government and on their official telegram channel. the russian side does not give as much detail but what they are saying is that they managed to return 150 people and that those people are servicemen according to what we have been seeing. i have been checking russian official telegram channels as well and they are human rights... she said that she had been speaking to them, we don't see that much detail in those telegram channels but what ukraine has been saying is that that prisoner swap is one of

the syrian defence ministry said reinforcements had been sent to hama and that syrian and russian warplanesst week, the rebels seized the city of aleppo in a lightning offensive that undermined president bashar al—assad's grip on power. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news in the uk. masterchef presenter gregg wallace is facing fresh allegations. 0ne allegation says he was touching a woman. he denies engaging in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature. south western railway will be the first train operating company to come under public control, out of the government passed a major piece of legislation last week. the company operates train services across large parts of southern and southwest england, with an announcement expected tomorrow. rail nationalisation was a key part of labour's election ma nifesto. the conservative leader in the welsh parliament, andrew rt davies, has resigned, despite narrowly surviving a vote of confidence of his party colleagues. he said a substantial minority of his party opposed his continued leade

the defence ministry in niger says two recent attacks in the west have killed 39 people including severalillings by islamist militants. it's not yet known who carried out the latest attacks. at least five people have been found dead and dozens are still missing, after a dinghy carrying migrants capsized off the southern coast of crete. according to the greek authorities, 39 people have been rescued while search and rescue operations are ongoing. eight people have been injured, one of them critically, when a bus crashed into a railway bridge in glasgow city centre. part of the vehicle's roof was torn off in the accident yesterday evening. it's thought the bus may have taken a wrong turn. let's turn now to the political crisis in georgia. opposition supporters have continued their protests in the capital, tbilisi, and other cities — something they've been doing since the end of last month. a rally outside parliament was addressed by the pro—western president salome zourabichili, who told the crowd that new elections were needed to achieve peace and justice. earlier, a new president was elec

the ministry of defence — under resourced. the ministry of defence said _ under resourced. icult time. we did everything, we loved him so much. but he needed that immediate help.— immediate help. there is nothina immediate help. there is nothing for _ immediate help. there is nothing for them, - immediate help. there is nothing for them, and i immediate help. there is i nothing for them, and they served _ nothing for them, and they served their country, they served _ served their country, they served their country, they served their country, they served their country, and the country— served their country, and the country should do the same for them — country should do the same for them. �* , country should do the same for them, �*, ., , country should do the same for them. �*, ., , ., them. sam's family will now campaign — them. sam's family will now campaign for _ them. sam's family will now campaign for a _ them. sam's family will now campaign for a change - them. sam's family will now campaign for a change in - them. sam's family will now| campaign for a change in the la

however, today the defence minister actually issued a statement saying that the defence ministry andof the martial law another time is low at this point. law another time is low at this oint, , ., ., law another time is low at this oint, ,., ., ., law another time is low at this oint. ,., ., ., i. point. good to get your thoughts- _ point. good to get your thoughts. that - point. good to get your thoughts. that is i point. good to get your thoughts. that is ellen| point. good to get your- thoughts. that is ellen kim. do so with us. you are watching bbc news. —— do stay with us. hello there. storm darragh is heading into western parts of the uk this afternoon, but things will take a turn for the worse overnight and into saturday. it's then that we have this red wind warning from the met office, meaning a danger to life. the winds are going to be gusting 90 miles an hour across western and southern parts of wales, through the bristol channel. the warning is from 3:00 tomorrow morning to 11:00 on saturday morning. and as well as a danger to life, there's going to be some travel disrupti

, the presidents of ukraine claimed 189 ukrainians would be returning home while the russian defence ministryy 150 personnel woulde be swapped by the side, the reason for the discrepancy numbers was not immediately clear. footage shows the p.o.w. j boarding buses aust an unknown location. some of the other stories beyond our borders, we will be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> at least four people have died after severe weathere outbreaks in the south, that spawned multiple tornadoes across sevenre states this weekend, there are reports of as many as 44 tornadoes with mostpi significant damage report across mississippi, and around houston. off in the second to last trading day of the year, down plummeted for 18 the sp five lost 64, d dropped 235. >> i will tell pennsylvania weathers to frock and drill. we will have energy dominance an we did juscet four short years o >> if they choose to do so, it's truerue.! deny or delay, clean energy revolution underway. nobody can reverse. >> there is both optimism andin concern from oil and gas industry leaders over the second trump administration energy policies

defence. that comes after it emerged the ministry of defence was considering the possibility of sending britishhe 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 fit through the chapel in london. the traditional speech from the monarch will be broadcast at 1500 gmt on christmas day. you alive with bbc news. 202a was a big year for artificial intelligence big yearfor artificial intelligence companies and almost every field have been looking full ways to incorporate ai into their business models. in some cases just to speed up workflow and in others to find whole new ways of working. amid the excitement there is also caution from experts about what rapidly improving artificial intelligence systems could mean and whether governments can be quick enough to keep up with the new technology will advances. to talk about what is coming next for all unjointed now by margaret mitchell, the chief ethics scientist and she was formerly at google where she founded and co— led its et

listen to the discussion that putin had with his ministry of defence just a couple of days ago.war, and europe... well, hang on, that idea of yours — that putin is preparing for a larger war — gets to the point that in the end, as far as you are concerned, putin is in this war for the long haul. if that's true, i just wonder whether you — as an official that, to be blunt about it, was sacked by president zelensky — whether you worry that there are now political divisions inside your own country that are in the next year going to weaken ukraine. well, when it comes to opposing russia, i don't see political divisions because all ukrainian politicians, be in opposition or in government — they realise that if russia comes, they will be gone. i mean, there will be no politics in ukraine. there will be the regional russian policy, not... sure, but what we see is zelensky centralising power. he no longer has a democratic mandate because, of course, his five—year term is over and he's now using special emergency powers. and you did say recently zelensky has to let strong people back int

well, i think, as you say, if i was in the russian general staff or the ministry of defence or, indeed minutes from the kremlin? it's all over the news. they'll be saying... well, every time they walk past a scooter, they'll look at that and say, "is that a potential bomb?" and they know the ukrainians are after them. and i think the wider sense of shock that steve rosenberg spoke about is also true. this guy was a high—profile spokesperson for pumping out russian lies about chemical weapons over the last two and a half years. he's now been assassinated. it's been reported widely. and although they can call it a terrorist attack, actually, it's a legitimate, proportionate attack on a military figure. and that won't be lost on russians. a strong 7.3 magnitude earthquake has struck the pacific island nation of vanuatu, triggering landslides, crushing cars and flattening buildings. power and mobile networks across the country have been cut and the full extent of the damage remains unclear. incredible pictures, these. you can see the moment the earthquake struck a garage, shaking cars and

there is a press conference at the ministry of defence this morning, so we will have some more linesut news is slowly starting to trickle, as the day after all the events we saw transpire gets under way and we will be bringing you those updates do you live as they happen. updates do you live as they ha en. ~ updates do you live as they hauen. ~ updates do you live as they hauen.~ ., ., . happen. we saw those dramatic imaaes happen. we saw those dramatic ima . es of happen. we saw those dramatic images of the — happen. we saw those dramatic images of the protests - happen. we saw those dramatic images of the protests and - images of the protests and people entering the national assembly. i wonder what people there in seoul have been telling you about what they make about all of this? yes, those pictures _ make about all of this? yes, those pictures were - make about all of this? yes, | those pictures were certainly dramatic. i mean, we also all those images from laura bicker�*s story that she did on it, with that ladyjust it, with that lady just grabbing it, with that ladyjust grabbin

the ministry of defence says its sympathies remain with sam's family and friends at this difficult timeervices to our armed forces, and veterans in every part of the uk can now access that treatment. we did everything and we loved him so much, but he needed that immediate help. there is nothing for them and they served their country. they served their country and the country should do the same for them. sam's family will now campaign for a change in the law in his name. they want veterans who suffer from post—traumatic stress disorder to receive immediate support and treatment. stuart whincup, bbc news. and if you have been affected by any of the issues raised, you can find information and support at bbc.co.uk/actionline. ceremonies will be held in belgium and luxembourg today ahead of the 80th anniversary of the start of one of the key battles of the western front, during the second world war. the battle of the bulge, a german counter—offensive designed to split allied forces, began on the 16th of december 1944. it's no secret that cycling is good for your physical health — but could i

called it a tragic incident in russian airspace but did not admit that russian air defences shot it down. the health ministrypatients. the world health organization says it�*s the last major hospital in northern gaza now out of service. thick fog continues to cause delays and cancellations at some of the uk�*s busiest international airports. forecasters say the fog is likely to linger. and — these jeans were not made for chess — in fact it led to the resignation of the world�*s top grandmaster, magnus carlsen, who was defending his titles at two championships in new york. more than 1,000 critically endangered snails — some of which were bred in captivity here in the uk — have been released onto a remote portuguese island. the desertas island land snails were believed to be extinct until an expedition team discovered a tiny native

called it a tragic incident in russian airspace but did not admit that russian air defences shot it down. the health ministryned and interrogated around one hundred medical staff from a hospital in the north of the territory after they forcibly evacuated the patients. the world health organization says it's the last major hospital in northern gaza now out of service. indians gather to pay their respects to former prime minister, manmohan singh. india's first sikh prime minister died on thursday at the age of 92. his last rites were held with full state honours. and — thick fog continues to cause delays and cancellations at some of the uk's busiest international airports. forecasters say the fog is likely to linger. now on bbc news, it's sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'mjane dougall.