Syria fighting flares up

Syrian government forces and their Russian allies have been bombarding a key city in rebel-held Idlib province, causing tens of thousands of civilians to flee north towards the Turkish border.

Also in the programme: India's cabinet has approved the allocation of more than a billion dollars to conduct a detailed census and population survey next year, leading to further protests; and pilgrims from around the world celebrate Christmas with midnight mass in Bethlehem, believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus.

(Photo: Abu Ahmad, one of the last people to flee from Maaret al-Numan in the northwestern Syrian Idlib province, reacts as he rides in a pick-up truck before leaving the town with his family towards a camp for the displaced, on 24 December 2019. - Syrian government forces on December 24 were less than four kilometres (two miles) from the strategic city of Maaret al-Numan, the head of the Britain-based monitor, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP. Fearing further advances, thousands of Maaret al-Numan"s residents have fled. Credit: Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images)