instead, he will spend the christmas privately at his home in windsor with his ex—wife, sarah, duchess of yorkfe, sarah, duchess of york. ., , a statement attributed to the deposed syrian leader bashar al—assad has been posted on social media. they are his first apparent comments since he fled to moscow eight days ago. here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg. where is bashar al—assad ? he hasn't been seen since he fled syria. today, a statement, purporting to be from him, appeared on the social media accounts of the former syrian president, dateline moscow. it's unclear who controls the accounts and whether assad wrote this: "my departure from syria was neither planned, nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles. i remained in damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of sunday 8th december. at no point during these events did i consider stepping down or seeking refuge." president putin, who met army chiefs today, has reportedly granted assad asylum. but the kremlin leader has said nothing publicly about it. most of this speech was about the war in ukraine — not a wo

and prince andrew, with his ex—wife sarah, duchess of york, will notjoin the family this year to avoidnese spy were made public. the king has, unusually, chosen to deliver his christmas message today from a former hospital chapel in central london, rather than a royal residence. it's a sign that his own health problems will form part of the broadcast. fitzrovia chapel is a community space, and the power of bringing people together is also likely to feature. the themes of health and community have run through much of the king's work in recent months. his final engagement of the year in northeast london last week celebrated community, diversity, and cohesion — but there was also a passing reference to his health challenges. good morning. how are you? i'm still alive! after the royal visit to australia and samoa in october, more international travel is planned for the king in the coming months. his cancer treatment is ongoing, but palace sources say he ends 2024 feeling optimistic and positive about the year ahead. daniela relph, bbc news. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc n

we understand that he'll be spending christmas privately with his ex—wife, sarah, duchess of york, ate, royal lodge in windsor. and there is one just remaining issue around his involvement in the royal christmas that hasn't been resolved yet, and it's whether he will be here at buckingham palace later this week. every year, the king hosts a royal family lunch for the wider royal family, a huge group of people. it's a private event, but it's not yet clear whether prince andrew will be in attendance here later this week. our china correspondent laura bicker told us more about china's reaction to the claim it had placed a spy close to the royal family. earlier this week, the foreign ministry spokesperson described them as baseless and said that china has always acted with honour in its business dealings abroad. earlier this year, china actually turned the tables on the uk and accused mi6 of recruiting a couple to act as spies against china. their wider point there is that both sides engage in surveillance, but when it comes to the wider uk—china relationship, there's always this balance

and prince andrew with his ex—wife, sarah, duchess of york, won'tjoin the family this year to avoid being unusually chosen to deliver his christmas message today from a former hospital chapel in central london, rather than a royal residence. it's a sign his own health problems will form part of the broadcast. fitzrovia chapel is a community space. the themes of community has run through much of the king's work. his final engagement of the year celebrated community diversity and cohesion. but there was also a passing reference to his health challenges.— health challenges. good morning. _ health challenges. good morning, how _ health challenges. good morning, how are - health challenges. good morning, how are you? | health challenges. good - morning, how are you? still alive! after— morning, how are you? still alive! after the _ morning, how are you? still alive! after the royal- morning, how are you? still alive! after the royal visit i morning, how are you? stillj alive! after the royal visit to australia — alive! after the royal visit to australia and _ alive! after the royal visit to au

duchess of edinburgh. also part of that walking party, absent, though, was the duke of york, who's been accused of having linkso an alleged chinese spy. meanwhile, king charles is set to break with tradition today, delivering his annual christmas message from a former hospital chapel. and you can watch the king's message here live on gb news at 3:00. gb news can confirm that at least 350 migrants have crossed the english channel in small boats so far on christmas day. several boats were seen making the dangerous journey from france this morning, with more expected to follow over the course of the day. now, those who arrived in dover following early hours crossings broke a penod early hours crossings broke a period of more than a week when no small boats had been spotted. now this all comes after gb news exclusively revealed yesterday that thousands of migrants were massing along the northern coast of france, preparing to cross to the uk in small boats over the christmas period. and finally, swimmers across the nation have braved the chilly waters as they celebrate christmas day with a festive plunge. many swim

congressman, thanks very much for being with us.s your district is north of new york city, the bedroom communities, the rural areas of duchess county. what do your constituents think about this? it's a giant game of chicken and from the reporting from -- the hill, newspapers, and others and you're tanking this because it's yoa christmas tree bill, and continuing resolution tends to be, and i think you're quoted as saying -- tell me if it's wrong, and i'll clean it up. i'm not an effing democrat. >> so a few things here. number one, there's a few realities that everybody has , to terms with. we are still in a divided government. democrats control the senate and the white house, and by l the w e it's fascinating, nobody's ev asking what joe biden thinks about what is happening right en now, but in order to pass anything, it does need to have bipartisan support. you're going to need democrats at sa minimum in the senate, b umvery likely in the house to support a continuing resolution. number two, there can not be a shutdown. i have been very clear about that in the past, and remain fully committed to that. a shutdown does not s

this bill is one of several initiatives that passed the house to build off the work i began as duchess county executive in new yorktate, our think differently initiative. this was a call to action to create a supportive and welcoming environment for those living with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities. the think differently transportation act does just that. the bill requires that amtrak submit to congress and the president an annual report with an expected timeline for bringing amtrak trains and stations into compliance with the americans with disabilities act. amtrak stations and trains should be fully accessible to all americans, with disabilities and of every ability. and fully compliant, of course, with federal law. now the a.d.a. was passed in 1990 and established a 20-year time frame for intercity rail stations to be accessible to those with disabilities. as of july, 2023, sadly amtrak has only brought 30% of their 385 stations that they are responsible for into a.d.a.-compliance. now, of course this is unacceptable. and it's the reason this bill is necessary. the think differently transp

duchess county, new york. our think differently legislation was a call to action and was meant to break down barriers for those of all disabilities. if you go to thinkdifferently.net you'll see the county level version of what this bill seeks to create. this bill requires h.h.s. to create a database of all resources available for individuals of all disability and their caregivers in a searchable format and now will expand the county level program we created to a federal level for americans of every ability. again, i want to thank the incoming chairman mr. guthrie but also chairwoman mcrogers to make this bill a reality and hopefully find its way to law. i ask my colleagues to support the bill and i thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for embracing this next step. it's a minor step but one that is necessary. i can't think of any better way to close my service in the 118th congress than passing what has become and is my top priority, this piece of legislation which sets forth to break down barriers and create opportunities for everyone of every ability. with that, mr. speaker, i extend my appreciation an

. >> the duchess of york has been ianed >> the duchess of york has been invited along in previous yearse's had a difficult year because she's had a double cancer diagnosis. who knows? let's move on to the next story, which is on the front of the mail on sunday. we're calling it starmer's eu sell out. starmer has got a surrender squad planning to undo brexit with some of these talks with the eu. just explain it to us. >> yes, absolutely. this is the story that the prime minister has assembled, a kind of pretty significant sized department to essentially to renegotiate brexit, they call it, to reset our relations with the eu. some fear that this is done with the aim of ultimately rejoining the eu. lord frost, in fact, who was served as the trade negotiator, previously said that more people than he he was given to negotiate the initial deal have been seconded to this department. so it's like 100 civil servants or something in that region. and it's interesting to me because, you know, whatever your views on brexit, and i very much understand why many people feel it hasn't been a success, no

the duchess of york, sarah ferguson, has also shared a bit of a christmas message. >> it's a time ofeflection, and i just want to say thank you and i just want to say thank you and a huge embrace of goodness to and kindness to those of you who've been so kind and so supportive and to people all over the world that are feeling a little bit sort of low or sad and just take some joy and bubbles from from us here where we're sending you so much love and we must just keep, keep showing light, turning to the light, finding the joy and saying thank you. >> i really think that that. there we go. what do you make of that with the corgis? >> a bit of a wind chill, wasn't it? yeah, that was a wind tunnel. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> by the way, we have deliberately. there are a lot of people who find this time of year tough. you know, they might be alone or they might have lost a family member. and it is about spreading that, spreading that love to people who, you know, your neighbours as well as your family. >> absolutely. and we have made a conscious decision to not inflict keir starmers christmas m

meanwhile, the duke of york will not join the royal family for christmas at sandringham, according to sources. it's understood both prince andrew and his ex—wife, the duchessf york, have decided to avoid the annual family gathering amid the ongoing scandal over the duke's close links to the alleged chinese spy. it comes after the duke was urged to, quote, do the decent thing and maintain a low profile over the christmas penod profile over the christmas period to avoid causing further embarrassment to the king. in other news, killer nurse lucy letby legal team has said they will be asking the court of appeal to immediately review all her convictions because an expert witness has now changed his mind on the cause of the death of three babies. her new lawyer, mark macdonald, said doctor dewi evans had told the jury doctor dewi evans had told the jury letby had injected air down a nasal gastric tube, leading to the death of the three babies. but he said doctor evans has now changed his mind. letby is serving 15 whole life terms in prison for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others while working at the countess of chester hospital in

of york will not join the royal family for christmas at sandringham. that's according to sources. it's understood both prince andrew and his ex—wife, the duchessyork, have decided to avoid the annual family gathering amid the ongoing scandal over the duke's close links to the alleged chinese spy. it comes after the duke was urged to do the right thing and maintain a low profile over the christmas period, to avoid causing further embarrassment to the king. in other news, killer nurse lucy letby, his legal team, has said they will be asking the court of appeal to immediately review all her convictions because an expert witness has now changed his mind on the cause of the death of three babies. her new lawyer, mark macdonald, said doctor dewi evans had told the jury letby had injected air down a nasogastric tube, leading to the death of the three babies. but he said doctor evans has now changed his mind. letby is serving 15 whole life terms in prison for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others while working at the countess of chester hospital in 2015 and 2016. a snap election has been triggered in germany after chancel

duke of york will not join the duke of york will not join the royal family for christmas at sandringham. that's according to sources. it's understood both prince andrew and his ex—wife, the duchessf york, have decided to avoid the annual family gathering amid the ongoing scandal over the duke's close links to the alleged spy. police in the us say at least three people are dead and six are injured after a shooting at are injured after a shooting at a school in wisconsin. the shooting occurred at abundant life christian school in the state capital of madison. authorities say children were among the dead, while police believe the suspected juvenile shooter was a student at the school. residents have been asked to avoid the area and roads are closed near the school. in other news, killer nurse lucy letby, his legal team, has said they will be asking the court of appeal to immediately review all of her convictions because an expert witness has now changed his mind on the cause of death of three babies. her new lawyer, mark macdonald, said doctor julie macdonald, said doctorjulie evans had told the jury letby had injected air down a nasogastric tube, leading to the death of the three

the duke of york will not join the duke of york will not join the royal family for christmas at sandringham, according to sources. it's understood both prince andrew and his ex—wife, the duchessf york, have decided to avoid the annual family gathering amid the ongoing scandal over the duke's close . links to the alleged close. links to the alleged chinese spy. in other news, police in the us say at least three people are dead and six are injured after a shooting at are injured after a shooting at a school in wisconsin. the shooting occurred at abundant life christian school in the state capital of madison. a teenage student and a teacher died, and two students have life threatening injuries. meanwhile, another teenage student was identified as the suspected attacker. residents have been asked to avoid the area and road closures remain in place. killer nurse lucy letby, his legal team, has said they will be asking the court of appeal to immediately review all of her convictions, because an expert witness has now changed his mind on the cause of death of three babies. her new lawyer, mark macdonald, said doctor dewi evans had told the jury letby had injected air down a nasogast

meanwhile, the duke of york will not join the royal family for christmas at sandringham, according to sources. it's understood both prince andrew and his ex—wife, the duchessecided to avoid the annual family gathering amid the ongoing scandal over the duke's close links to the alleged chinese spy. it comes after the duke was urged to, quote, do the decent thing and maintain a low profile over the christmas penod profile over the christmas period to avoid causing further embarrassment to the king. in other news, killer nurse lucy letby legal team has said they will be asking the court of appeal to immediately review all of her convictions because an expert witness has now changed his mind on the cause of the death of three babies. her new lawyer, mark macdonald, said doctor dewi evans had told the jury doctor dewi evans had told the jury letby had injected air down a nasogastric tube, leading to the death of the three babies. but he said doctor evans had now changed his mind. letby is serving 15 whole life terms in prison for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others while working at the countess of chester hospital in 2015 and 201

and finally, gb news understands this lunchtime that prince andrew, after speaking to sarah, duchess of yorkll not attend the pre—christmas lunch hosted by the king at buckingham palace tomorrow. it's thought sarah ferguson advised her ex—husband not to attend following the alleged chinese spy following the alleged chinese spy scandal, as first reported in the daily mail, the king's brother has already pulled out of attending the royal christmas gathering at sandringham over christmas. we'll bring you more on that story as we get it. those were your latest gb news headlines. i'm joe caspar. more from me in an hour. >> now back to jacob for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code or go to gbnews.com/alerts. >> welcome back to state of the nation. it's no surprise that labour's budget measures have made the economy weaker. inflation is up to 2.6% from 2.3% in october, but according to read rachel, this is fine because we're in the same boat as america. >> the inflation numbers today show inflation at 2.6%. that is comparable to other co

pre—christmas lunch hosted by the king at buckingham palace tomorrow after speaking to sarah, duchess of yorkgb news understands it's thought sarah ferguson advised her ex—husband not to attend following the alleged chinese spy scandal. as first reported in the daily mail, the king's brother has already pulled out of attending the royal christmas gathering at sandringham over christmas. those are your latest headlines. for now, i'm joe casper. more from me in an hour. >> now back to patrick for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code or go to. gbnews.com/alerts. >> welcome along. council houses in britain should go to british people first. brits should be at the top of the queue. social housing should not be going to people who can't speak a word of english, and who clearly haven't integrated. british taxpayers are right to feel like they are at the back of the queue, being asked to pay for everybody else who has gone before them. step forward westminster council, who released this video to tell people about changes to social housing.

so has the sarah, duchess of york been the christmas saviour and spared the king's blushes?nd breaking news in france this morning. dominique pelicot has been found guilty of the drugging and mass rape of his then wife, gisele pelicot, as he is sentenced to 20 years in jail and labours on the charm offensive as the prime minister's chief of staff hold a secret meeting with donald trump's top team to build bndges trump's top team to build bridges after, of course, labour people supported his election opponent earlier this year. >> but the water bill is huge. average increase of 36% over five years and inflation is 2.6%. astonishing savage blow for cost of living. some people's bills are going to go up hundreds of pounds a year. >> yeah, and although people don't think much about their water bill at the moment, it tends to be less than things like your electricity and your gas. yeah. yeah, i think some are going up almost 50% in some areas. it's absolutely huge. >> yeah. the biggest increase is southern ironically over 50%, where 60,000 homes don't have any water today. so how

and prince andrew, with his ex—wife sarah, duchess of york, will notjoin the family this year to avoid a distraction after his links to an alleged chinese spy were made public. the king has, unusually, chosen to deliver his christmas message today from a former hospital chapel in central london, rather than a royal residence. it's a sign that his own health problems will form part of the broadcast. fitzrovia chapel is a community space, and the power of bringing people together is also likely to feature. the themes of health and community have run through much of the king's work in recent months. his final engagement of the year in northeast london last week celebrated community, diversity, and cohesion — but there was also a passing reference to his health challenges. good morning. how are you? i'm still alive! after the royal visit to australia and samoa in october, more international travel is planned for the king in the coming months. his cancer treatment is ongoing, but palace sources say he ends 2024 feeling optimistic and positive about the year ahead. daniela relph, bbc news. j

duchess of edinburgh. also part of that walking party. absent, though, was the duke of yorkwho has been accused of having links to an alleged chinese spy. the archbishop of york emerged smiling from his christmas day service in the north yorkshire city to greet well—wishers and tourists outside the minster. the archbishop of york, who will effectively take over as leader of the church of england next month, has called for change in his christmas sermon. stephen cottrell delivered his remarks as the church faces criticism over failures in its handling of various abuse scandals. archbishop of canterbury justin welby resigned last month after he was criticised for not doing enough to stop a prolific abusen enough to stop a prolific abuser. earlier this week, mr cottrell acknowledged that things could have been handled differently after revelations that a priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed under him while he was serving as bishop of chelmsford. gb news can confirm that at least 350 migrants have crossed the english channel in small boats so far thi

duchess of edinburgh. also part of that walking party, absent, though, was the duke of york, who's been accused of having linkso an alleged chinese spy. the archbishop of york emerged smiling from his christmas day service in the north yorkshire city to greet well—wishers and tourists outside the minster. the archbishop of york, who will effectively take over as leader of the church of england next month, has called for change. in his christmas sermon, stephen cottrell delivered his remarks as the church faces criticism over failures in its handling of various abuse scandals. archbishop of canterbury justin welby resigned last month after he was criticised for not doing enough to stop a prolific abusen enough to stop a prolific abuser. earlier this week, mr cottrell acknowledged that things could have been handled differently after revelations that a priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed under him while he was serving as bishop of chelmsford. gb news can confirm that at least 350 migrants have crossed the english channel in small boats so far this christmas day. several boats were s

duchess of edinburgh. also part of that walking party, absent, though, was the duke of york, who's been accused of having linksan alleged chinese spy. the archbishop of york emerged smiling from his christmas day service in the north yorkshire city to greet well—wishers and tourists outside the minster. the archbishop of york, who will effectively take over as leader of the church of england next month, has called for change in his christmas sermon. stephen cottrell delivered his remarks as the church faces criticism over failures in its handling of various abuse scandals. archbishop of canterbury justin welby resigned last month after he was criticised for not doing enough to stop a prolific abusen enough to stop a prolific abuser. earlier this week, mr cottrell acknowledged that things could have been handled differently after revelations that a priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed under him while he was serving as bishop of chelmsford. gb news can confirm that at least 350 migrants have crossed the english channel in small boats so far this christmas day. several boats were seen

duchess of edinburgh. also part of that walking party, absent, though, was the duke of york, who's been accused of having linkso an alleged chinese spy. the archbishop of york emerged smiling from his christmas day service in the north yorkshire city to greet well—wishers and tourists outside the minster. the archbishop of york, who will effectively take over as leader of the church of england next month, has called for change. in his christmas sermon, stephen cottrell delivered his remarks as the church faces criticism over failures in its handling of various abuse scandals. archbishop of canterbury justin welby resigned last month after he was criticised for not doing enough to stop a prolific abusen enough to stop a prolific abuser. earlier this week, mr cottrell acknowledged that things could have been handled differently after revelations that a priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed under him while he was serving as bishop of chelmsford. gb news can confirm that at least 350 migrants have crossed the english channel in small boats so far this christmas day. several boats were s

and their children, the princess royal and the duke and duchess of edinburgh were also part of the walking party. absent, though, was the duke of yorkwho's been accused of having links to an alleged chinese spy. the archbishop of york emerged smiling from his christmas day service in the north yorkshire city to greet well—wishers and tourists outside the minster. the archbishop of york, who will effectively take over as leader of the church of england next month, has called for change. in his christmas sermon, stephen cottrell delivered his remarks as the church faces criticism over failures in its handling of various abuse scandals. archbishop of canterbury justin welby resigned last month after he was criticised for not doing enough to stop a prolific abusen enough to stop a prolific abuser. earlier this week, mr cottrell acknowledged things could have been handled differently after revelations that a priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed under him while he was serving as bishop of chelmsford. gb news can confirm that at least 350 migrants have crossed the english channel in small boats so far on christ

of duchess. the duke and duchess of edinburgh. absent, though, was the duke of yorko's been accused of having links to an alleged chinese spy. meanwhile, king charles is set to break with tradition later on today, delivering his annual christmas message from a former hospital chapel. well, the princess of wales, meanwhile, delivered her christmas message yesterday evening during her annual together at christmas carol service at westminster abbey. >> welcome to our together at christmas carol service here at westminster abbey. the christmas story encourages us to consider the experiences and feelings of others. it also reflects our own vulnerabilities and reminds us of the importance of giving and receiving empathy. it encourages us to turn to love, not fear. the love that we show ourselves and the love that we show others. love that listens with empathy. love that is kind and understanding. love that is forgiving, and love that brings joy forgiving, and love that brings joy and hope. it is love which is the greatest gift we can receive, not just at christmas, but eve