24/12/2012 BBC News

A fresh band of rain sweeps across the UK, threatening more flooding.

The downpours mean it is a festive washout for some, will spend

Christmas clearing up damaged homes and businesses.

Roads closed and rail services disrupted as the bad weather causes

cancellations and delays. Everybody will get to where they need to get.

It may take a little bit longer. It may involve bus journeys but

everybody will get there today. Shoppers head out to buy last-

minute gifts, and a warning that many retailers are struggling to

survive. And the Queen in 3D. Her high-tech

Christmas message pays tribute to Good afternoon. People in many

parts of the UK have been warned to expect more flooding today with

another band of heavy rain expected to sweep across the country. There

are around 125 flood warnings in place in England and Wales and 260

flood alerts. Road and rail journeys are being disrupted,

particularly in the south-west. The main train line between London and

Plymouth is closed until Friday. Our correspondent is in Braunton in

Devon. Many people there will be spending the festive season

clearing up. They will. It is a strange situation. Lots of people

doing last minute Christmas things like they are doing on many high

streets across the country, picking up Turkeys, taking presents to

friends and family, but others have a very different Christmas and had

a them. -- a very different Christmas ahead of them. There

clearing up after a horrible, messy weekend. Instead of wrapping

presents, Darren is throwing them away. His gift shop has been

flooded twice over the weekend. So it is photos for the insurance

claim, and a nervous Christmas. Hopefully we have seen the worst,

but the trouble is, when it starts raining again, we will be thinking

that we better get down here again, and check. The skeps arrived at

8:00am this morning. By 9:30am, they were full. A community coming

together for Christmas, but not how the plant. Yet more heavy rain has

thrown Christmas Eve travel plans into chaos. A line from London to

South Wales and the West Country is badly delayed. Leaving passengers

in Exeter anxious about making at home in time. It will not be too

bad if it was just from home to the train station but then it is the

coach, another bus and then to my mother's. Quite a long time.

with your cat. Yes, very difficult when she is making noise of the

time. It is very embarrassing. is tough but I expected it. At the

end of the day, you have to get home for Christmas. There is

nothing worse than not being with your family. One of the main

problems is the line outside Exeter, badly flooded at Cowley Bridge.

This lunchtime, rail companies promise that one way or another

passengers will reach their Christmas destination. Everybody

will get to where they need to get. It may take a little bit longer and

it may involve bus journeys, but everybody will get there today.

Back in the seaside town of Braunton, they are still determined

to have some kind of Christmas. Those affected say they have been

overwhelmed by offers of help. Are we expecting more flooding

there? Well, certainly we are expecting

more rain. There will be more rain this afternoon here. They are

looking at a yellow flood warning across the south-west of England,

into tomorrow of, into Christmas Day. This is not going anywhere yet,

there will be more problems. But the one remaining Severe flood

warning, the most serious one that they have issued, the Environment

Agency, that has been cancelled in the last half-hour or so. So on the

face of it, it looks like there is less immediate pressing danger to

life. If you look at the river here, when I was here over the weekend,

on Saturday night it was right over the top, flooding into the car park

and into those businesses. But it has dropped below the bridge now.

At least here, that appears to be an encouraging sign. People here

are wondering, for how long. adoption process in England is to

be made swifter and more effective under plans unveiled by the

Government. A more information and support will be offered to

prospective adoptive parents including the right to take time

off work to meet children before they move in. The Government wants

more children to be adopted, rather than going to care. Recent figures

show that numbers are going up. But ministers admit that perspective --

prospective payments -- prospective parents can find the adoption

procedure daunting. They are announcing measures to make the

project more or -- the process more welcoming. Doctors will be given

access to a nationwide database, access to a nationwide database,

containing details of children available for adoption. They will

have the right to take time off work to meet children they are

considering. Adopted children who are two years old will get free

nursery care each week. And the Government announced that adopters

Government announced that adopters will get the same amount of paid

leave as biological parents. will give confidence to anyone

thinking about adopting, but we're on their side and we want to help

them go through that process. We want to make sure the match is made

as soon as possible so that a child can get a stable, loving home as

soon as possible. Charities to campaign on adoption welcomed the

announcement. But they say some families face problems years after

an adoption has taken place. And more long-term help, they say, is

needed. An American military adviser has

been killed by an Afghan police woman inside the main police

headquarters in Kabul. A woman, said to be the first female member

of Afghan security forces to carry out such an attack, has been

detained. As people head out for the last

minute Christmas shopping, a survey of retailers across the UK suggests

140 shops, including independent stores and major chains, are

struggling to survive. Begbies Traynor says that the number in

potential trouble rose by 35% in the three months to December. Some

shops opened in midnight to maximise profits.

-- opens till midnight. For some, the last day of Christmas shopping

began very early indeed. Tesco and Marks and Spencer open some stores

at midnight to cater for people try to avoid the last minute rush.

came here yesterday and it was manic. You can see that there is no

one about, it is easy, in and out in half an hour. I would rather

stay up late and have a little longer in bed. That suits us. It is

quite exciting. After a poor start to the Christmas shopping period,

retailers say trade has picked up significantly over the past two

weeks. Shopping centres like this one had been very crowded. Some

have reported record numbers of customers in recent days. We have

seen a lot of -- an upturn in consumer confidence, not great but

edging up. Adding that will support people when they say, right, let's

make sure we have a good Christmas. I think the last 10 days, they will

have gone out and spent. British Retail Consortium has

remaining cautious. It says that sales are likely to prove

acceptable but not exceptional. It has certainly been a busy weekend

on a British high street and retailers will be hoping that the

money they have made over the past few days will enable them to face

the new year with confidence. But if not, the chances are that some

of them may not be around in 12 months' time. And there is no

question that many are looking vulnerable. The report published

today claims that 140 retailers, large and small, are in imminent

danger of collapse, with thousands more in significant financial

difficulty. If Christmas sales proved disappointing, more big-name

chains -- more big-name chains could follow the likes of JJB

Sports to become the latest victims of economic chill.

Hugh Pym is on Oxford Street in central London. This is make-or-

break time for many retailers. all retailers, it is a critical

time. The final hours before they have to close their doors on

Christmas Eve. The early indication from last week was that Christmas

shopping has got off -- had got off to a slow start. Sales pictures

published show that in November there was a flat picture with no

growth at all. Food for figures, numbers of people going into major

shopping centres, and that is not the only indication, suggested a

fall. There is much hanging on this last minute rush which may well

have happened. Major retailers are frustrated. December 23rd, a

crucial day in the Christmas shopping season, was affected by

Sunday trading hours, just six hours of trading allowed. They

would have liked a bit of a dispensation on that. Who knows

what has really happened over the last few days. We will not know the

full picture Until retailers publish the details in January.

official result of a referendum on Egypt's constitution will be

published today. It is expected to have been passed with the support

of around 60% of those who voted. But the opposition groups believe

that the document will quash religious and other freedoms.

Bethany Bell reports from Cairo. Egyptians are waiting to see if

they have a new constitution. An early tally says that more than 60%

voted Yes to the charter. But the result is not official. The

referendum is being seen as the victory -- as a victory for Mohamed

Morsi and his Islamist supporters. They say that it is an important

milestone that will help Egypt get back on track. TRANSLATION: There

was not any blood spilled. Injured son should be happy that the

constitution has been approved in this way. -- Egyptians should be

happy. Up minority groups like Egypt's Christians are worried that

they will not be protected by the charter. Critics fear it has an

Islamist agenda. The opposition says it will continue to fight

against the constitution. It defies many of our basic values, like

freedom of religion, independence of the judiciary. We will fight it

and if we get a majority in the next parliamentary election, our

first platform will be to abolish or a man's at the very least, the

constitution. -- an end. Opposition protesters are still camped out in

Tahrir Square. Few expect that this crisis will end soon. Many

Egyptians are tired of the political upheaval. They hope a new

constitution can bring instability. But others are afraid the country

could be moving towards an Islamic state. -- bring in stability. Egypt

is teeth badly divided. -- Egypt is deeply divided about its future.

Three people have died in a road accident this morning in the east

of Scotland. Logon and borders police say the accident happened on

the A68 near Pathhead. One of the cars was carrying five people and

ended up on its roof. The driver managed to escape and fire crews

cut another man free but three passengers died at the scene.

A homeless charity, Crisis, is warning that a shortage of

affordable rented housing, particularly for people on benefits,

will mean more people living on the streets. The charity is opening

Christmas centres to provide food and shelter over the festive season

and is calling for the Government to rethink changes to housing

benefit. The Department for Work and Pensions says it is bringing

fairness to a system that it says is out of control. Jon Brain is at

a Christmas Centre in central London.

A food, warmth and activities on display here. People taking part in

everything that is being offered. Other problem is, what happens the

rest of the year? Crisis claims that there are more people on the

streets because of changes to housing benefit for people aged

between 25 and 35. One of those affected is Danny. I used to be

able to claim �180 a week, which gave me a flat. Now I can only

claim �90 which gives me a shared room. That sounds fine but the

landlords do not exist that will accept people on housing benefit at

that rate. I am stuck and they cannot move on. It is a catch 22

situation. -- I cannot move on. How big an impact higher -- how big an

impact are these changes having two we think it will be a big impact.

Part of the problem, the research shows, is that there is no shared

accommodation available that is affordable or accessible for people

on benefits. Why should people who are homeless or potentially

homeless be treated better than those who were working? Many of

them have to put up with this situation. There is something

interesting about housing benefit. If you look at what is happening,

the increase in housing benefit, 93% of those are working. You

cannot make that distinction between working being good and

housing benefit been bad. Thank you very much. This centre will be open

over Christmas and for a few days beyond. The questionnaires, what

happens after that? The government says this is about bringing

fairness to a system that it says is out of control.

The Queen has praised the UK's Olympic and Paralympic athletes in

her Christmas message, to be broadcast in 3D for the first time.

Buckingham Palace has released a short excerpt of the club, which

was filmed earlier this month. Yesterday the Queen is the church

service because of the cold but is expected to attend tomorrow.

At the end of a memorable year for Britain and the Royal Family, the

Queen's Christmas broadcast this year is expected to look back at

some of the highlights, from her Diamond Jubilee when crowds

celebrated her 60 years on the throne, and from below but -- and

from the London Olympics. The broadcast was recorded earlier this

month at Buckingham Palace. For the first time, a version has been made

in 3D. The viewing of which requires not just a special

television, but 3D glasses. The Queen, we're told, is happy with

the result. In an extract issued in advance of the broadcast, she talks

about the achievements all the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

London hosted a splendid summer of sport, all those who saw the

achievement and courage at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were

further inspired by the skill, dedication, training and teamwork

of our athletes. In pursuing their own sporting goals, they give the

rest of us the opportunity to share something of the excitement and

drama. Much of the Royal Family is now at Sandringham, the Queen's

estate in Norfolk where they traditionally spend Christmas.

Absent this year, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. They are