:00:00. > :00:10.Strong winds and heavy rain are still causing severe problems in
:00:11. > :00:13.parts of the UK. More than 100 flood warnings are in place - thousands of
:00:14. > :00:17.homes are without power, and there's a major incident in Surrey. At
:00:18. > :00:20.Gatwick Airport, dozens of flights have been cancelled, others delayed,
:00:21. > :00:23.leaving many passengers stranded on Christmas Eve. We'll have the latest
:00:24. > :00:30.on the travel problems, as the severe weather affects several
:00:31. > :00:33.regions. The other headlines... In South Sudan, the UN says it
:00:34. > :00:37.believes thousands of people have been killed in renewed violence.
:00:38. > :00:39.And in Rome, Pope Francis celebrates his first Christmas as pontiff, with
:00:40. > :01:06.thousands of worshippers. Good evening. The stormy weather is
:01:07. > :01:10.still causing major problems. Five people are now thought to have died
:01:11. > :01:12.in separate incidents because of the extreme conditions. The Environment
:01:13. > :01:16.Agency has more than 120 flood warnings in place for England and
:01:17. > :01:21.Wales, and there is a major incident in Surrey because of very high river
:01:22. > :01:24.levels. Most train firms are now running a normal service but there
:01:25. > :01:32.are still long delays at Gatwick Airport, where police are manning
:01:33. > :01:35.the information desks. They are now promising a full service tomorrow at
:01:36. > :01:38.Gatwick. And 75,000 homes are without power, including 3,000 in
:01:39. > :01:41.the north of Scotland. Some people may still be affected on Christmas
:01:42. > :01:51.Day, as our correspondent Jon Kay reports. Suddenly, Christmas seems
:01:52. > :01:54.rather irrelevant. For some, there are more pressing matters to deal
:01:55. > :01:59.with. In Kent, this lady has cancelled her family celebrations.
:02:00. > :02:05.Her home should have been full of Christmas cheer today. Instead, it
:02:06. > :02:11.is full of water. Christmas is off for us. I was looking forward to
:02:12. > :02:14.it, I was having my sister over for Christmas dinner, but I have had to
:02:15. > :02:19.put her off because I cannot cook anything for them. And she is not
:02:20. > :02:23.the only one. For many, Christmas plans have been turned upside down.
:02:24. > :02:29.This was Redhill aerodrome in Surrey this morning. Near Bath, the River
:02:30. > :02:33.Avon burst its banks, flooding this restaurant. The tables may have been
:02:34. > :02:39.set for Christmas dinner, but the crackers will not get pulled.
:02:40. > :02:45.50-something people to phone round, and tell them what has happened, and
:02:46. > :02:51.50-something people who are not going to be very happy. And I am not
:02:52. > :02:54.happy. Across southern Britain, hundreds of people have been rescued
:02:55. > :02:59.from their flooded cars. Near Bristol, this lady returned to find
:03:00. > :03:04.her vehicle under water. And tonight, a warning for motorists.
:03:05. > :03:08.People always underestimate the dangers of floodwaters, and the
:03:09. > :03:13.rivers will continue to rise over the next couple of days, even if it
:03:14. > :03:18.has stopped raining. On the railways, it has been another day of
:03:19. > :03:23.disruption, with landslips and hundreds of trees falling onto the
:03:24. > :03:25.tracks. This train hit one of them near Taunton, leaving exhausted
:03:26. > :03:33.passengers stranded overnight for eight hours. Nightmare before
:03:34. > :03:37.Christmas! It has been horrible. Although there have been some
:03:38. > :03:41.nightmare stories, train companies say they were prepared for this
:03:42. > :03:46.storm and they have been able to put out arrangements in place. They are
:03:47. > :03:49.helped by the fact that Christmas is midweek this year, so generally,
:03:50. > :03:52.journeys have been staggered across several days. If these
:03:53. > :03:57.holiday-makers thought they were getting away from all the Christmas
:03:58. > :04:01.stress, they were wrong. At Gatwick, thousands of would-be sun-seekers
:04:02. > :04:04.spent the day waiting to fly. Disruption to the airport's power
:04:05. > :04:11.supply caused long delays and cancellations. We are trying to deal
:04:12. > :04:16.with this calmly. We know there are people who have been here over seven
:04:17. > :04:20.hours... Police officers were called in to help behind the information
:04:21. > :04:25.desks, dealing with some of the angry and frustrated passengers.
:04:26. > :04:29.Even though the storms have left southern Britain for now, there are
:04:30. > :04:35.still serious concerns tonight. In Surrey, Fire Brigades Union called
:04:36. > :04:39.off a planned strike so they could deal with the rising River Mole. The
:04:40. > :04:43.stretch near Leatherhead was declared a major incident this
:04:44. > :04:46.evening, and water levels are not expected to peak there until the
:04:47. > :04:49.early hours of Christmas morning. As we mentioned, the severe weather
:04:50. > :04:53.has affected parts of Scotland in the second half of the day, with the
:04:54. > :04:56.Northern and Western Isles among the worst-affected areas. Tonight, power
:04:57. > :04:57.cuts are affecting 3,500 Scottish homes, as our Scotland correspondent
:04:58. > :05:07.James Cook reports. All day, the storm has been
:05:08. > :05:12.battering the West Coast of Scotland. It has cut power, caused
:05:13. > :05:18.some damage and left the Christmas plans of many families in tatters.
:05:19. > :05:22.For the few ferries which did brave the waves, the crossing was rough.
:05:23. > :05:26.This was the last sailing on this one, and the passengers knew they
:05:27. > :05:32.were lucky. We thought we might have a long drive round. We are very
:05:33. > :05:37.pleased that it is still running. We are going to the parents-in-law. We
:05:38. > :05:42.are just glad the weather held up enough for us to get home. But many
:05:43. > :05:46.other people were not so lucky. Looking at the boiling seas, it is
:05:47. > :05:51.easy to understand why so many ferries have been cancelled. It is
:05:52. > :05:55.simply not safe. The result for many families is a Christmas Day which
:05:56. > :06:00.has been ruined. Other modes of transport were finding it tricky,
:06:01. > :06:03.too. At this airport in Shetland, this plane struggled to get off the
:06:04. > :06:11.ground safely. And there were some bizarre scenes like seaweed on the
:06:12. > :06:16.street in Oban, and this seems on the seafront in Ayrshire. The advice
:06:17. > :06:21.is always the same, give yourself a bit of time. We have got forecasts
:06:22. > :06:27.for high wind and snow. And the snow has now arrived. Thousands of homes
:06:28. > :06:31.are already without power, and thousands more are being urged to
:06:32. > :06:36.prepare for Christmas by candlelight. For updates on the
:06:37. > :06:38.weather, and the latest road and rail information, you can visit our
:06:39. > :06:47.website. There are reports of renewed
:06:48. > :06:51.violence in South Sudan in East Africa. The UN says it believes that
:06:52. > :06:54.thousands of people have been killed in recent days, and is doubling the
:06:55. > :06:57.number of its peacekeeping troops in the country. The fighting has taken
:06:58. > :07:00.place in several areas, including the capital, Juba, and is linked to
:07:01. > :07:04.political tensions between the president and his former deputy. Our
:07:05. > :07:12.Africa analyst James Copnall has more details.
:07:13. > :07:18.The UN says it has found a mass grave in a rebel controlled area.
:07:19. > :07:24.And there have been reports of security forces in the capital
:07:25. > :07:27.killing civilians. The military spokesman has denied the charge. The
:07:28. > :07:34.fighting continues to spread. These government troops hope to retake two
:07:35. > :07:37.key towns captured by the rebels. It began with reports of an attempted
:07:38. > :07:41.coup in the capital just over a week ago. Troops loyal to President Salva
:07:42. > :07:47.Kiir are fighting rebels under the command of his former vice president
:07:48. > :07:52.Riek Machar. President Salva Kiir is a Dinka, the largest ethnic group,
:07:53. > :07:57.while Riek Machar is from the second-biggest, the Nuer, and oil is
:07:58. > :08:04.the country's main source of wealth. The UN peacekeepers are
:08:05. > :08:07.short of men and equipment. The vote on sending over 5000 more soldiers
:08:08. > :08:14.will take place soon. Until then, the message is clear - the world is
:08:15. > :08:18.watching. Attacks on civilians and UN peacekeepers must cease
:08:19. > :08:23.immediately. The United Nations will investigate reports of these
:08:24. > :08:28.incidents and of grave human rights violations and crimes against
:08:29. > :08:35.humanity. Those responsible will be held personally accountable. South
:08:36. > :08:39.Sudan split away from Sudan only two years ago, but now, even those born
:08:40. > :08:43.after independence know the bitter taste of war.
:08:44. > :08:48.A surgeon in Birmingham has been suspended following allegations that
:08:49. > :08:50.he marked his initials on a patient's liver. University
:08:51. > :08:53.Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said it was investigating the
:08:54. > :08:54.claims. The letters were reportedly found by another surgeon during a
:08:55. > :09:02.follow-up operation. Alan Turing, the computer pioneer
:09:03. > :09:05.and wartime code-breaker, has been given a posthumous royal pardon. It
:09:06. > :09:09.relates to his conviction in 1952 for homosexual activity. Ministers
:09:10. > :09:12.said Dr Turing was an exceptional man whose work at Bletchley Park
:09:13. > :09:16.saved thousands of lives during the Second World War.
:09:17. > :09:21.In Rome, Pope Francis has been celebrating his first Christmas Eve
:09:22. > :09:24.Mass as pontiff in the company of thousands of pilgrims. The service
:09:25. > :09:29.is the Pope's only public mass for Christmas. Tomorrow, on Christmas
:09:30. > :09:32.Day, he will deliver his message meant for the world from the balcony
:09:33. > :09:33.overlooking St Peter's Square, as our correspondent Alan Johnston
:09:34. > :09:48.reports. Walking slowly into the centre of
:09:49. > :09:54.the Christmas story, Pope Francis. One year ago, he could never have
:09:55. > :09:58.imagined this. Back then, he was almost unknown beyond his native
:09:59. > :10:07.Argentina. But now, he leads the Catholic world. TRANSLATION: Let us
:10:08. > :10:10.acknowledge our sins and prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred
:10:11. > :10:17.mysteries... For the first time as Pope, he is guiding it through the
:10:18. > :10:20.rituals of Christmas, and there were moments tonight when you locked in
:10:21. > :10:24.his face, when it was easy to imagine that he felt the weight of
:10:25. > :10:29.his new responsibility 's. When he spoke, he delivered that most
:10:30. > :10:37.traditional of Christmas messages, the need for peace and love.
:10:38. > :10:41.TRANSLATION: We love God and our brothers and sisters, who walk in
:10:42. > :10:46.the light. If our heart is closed, if we are dominated by pride,
:10:47. > :10:54.deceit, self-seeking, then darkness falls within us, and around us. As
:10:55. > :11:02.he drew to a close, he sought to instil hope and courage.
:11:03. > :11:07.TRANSLATION: Do not be afraid. Our father is patient. He loves us. He
:11:08. > :11:13.gives us Jesus to guide us on the way, which leads to the promised
:11:14. > :11:19.land. Jesus is the light brightens the darkness.
:11:20. > :11:26.Pope Francis will return to St Peter's Church's in the morning, and
:11:27. > :11:29.from its balcony, he will make the traditional Christmas Day address,
:11:30. > :11:33.in which he will reflect on the troubles of the world.
:11:34. > :11:38.There's more on today's stories, including the weather, on the BBC
:11:39. > :11:42.News Channel. But that's all from the BBC One news team tonight - we'd
:11:43. > :11:58.like to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas. Good night.
:11:59. > :12:05.Good evening. It will be no consolation to those who have had
:12:06. > :12:08.their Christmas ruined to know that we have had some exceptional
:12:09. > :12:15.meteorology over the last a jet stream of 285mph which produced the
:12:16. > :12:16.storm, which brought a pressure as