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King Charles has used his first Christmas message to reflect on the cost-of-living crisis. He spoke of the "great anxiety and hardship" for those struggling to "pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm". There were images of food banks and help for the homeless alongside the speech, recorded by the King in St George's Chapel, Windsor. He paid tribute to his mother Queen Elizabeth, who is buried in the chapel. The late Queen pioneered the televised royal Christmas Day address, and used what was to become her final message last year to speak of "passing the baton" to the next generation.

South Korean military officials say North Korea has flown five drones across their mutual border. The "unmanned aerial vehicles" violated South Korean airspace in the border areas around Gyeonggi province, said the country's joint chiefs of staff. One drone flew all the way to the northern edge of the capital, Seoul, before returning across the border. Jets and attack helicopters were deployed, but 100 rounds fired from helicopters failed to shoot them down.

A Ukrainian drone attack on an airbase for bombers in southern Russia has left three people dead, Moscow says. Air defences shot down the drone near the Engels base, but falling debris fatally wounded three technical staff, the defence ministry said. Earlier this month, Russia accused Ukraine of a similar attack on the airfield, home to bombers that have carried out missile attacks on Ukraine. The base lies about 650km (400 miles) north-east of Ukraine's border. The Ukrainian military has not officially admitted carrying out the latest attack, but air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the explosions were the result of what Russia was doing on Ukrainian soil.

BBC News China is staging one of its biggest incursions so far in the seas and skies around Taiwan, according to data from the island's defence ministry. It said that 71 Chinese air force planes, including fighter jets and drones, had entered Taiwan's so-called air defence identification zone. Taiwan is self-ruled - but China sees it as a breakaway province with which it will eventually reunite. Tensions between the two sides have steadily increased in recent months. In August, Beijing was enraged by a visit to the island by US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, the most senior US politician to visit Taiwan in 25 years.

Sky News Ukraine has said Vladimir Putin "needs to come back to reality" in response to the Russian president's claim that he is ready to negotiate. On a day which saw Russia launch rocket attacks on dozens of frontline towns, Mr Putin had told state broadcaster Rossiya 1 that the Kremlin was "ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions".

While working to counter the drones, a South Korean KA-1 light attack aircraft crashed shortly after departing its Wonju base in the country's east, a defence ministry official said.

Latest updates on the war in Ukraine as officials say a Ukrainian drone was shot down over a Russian airbase, killing three; Kyiv set to call for Russia to be removed from the UN Security Council. Listen to the latest episode of Ukraine War Diaries while you scroll.

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CNN — The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has called on Myanmar’s ruling military junta to release all political prisoners, including deposed State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and former President Win Myint, in its first resolution passed on the Southeast Asian country since its independence. UNSC Resolution 2669 on Myanmar expressed “deep concern at the ongoing state of emergency imposed by the military,” and emphasized the need to tackle several long-standing issues. It also called for greater humanitarian assistance for victims of violence, with emphasis on women, children and displaced populations, including the Rohingya – a persecuted mostly Muslim minority.

Authorities in the US state of Arizona have agreed to remove a wall made of shipping containers at the Mexican border following protests. The state's Republican governor, who had the barrier installed, argued that it would halt migrants crossing into America. But critics who filed legal challenges have questioned this. The wall is made out of more than 900 containers and cost at least $80m (£66m) of taxpayer money. Arizona shares a 600km (370 mile) border with Mexico. Fences have been built along large stretches of it since 2017, when Donald Trump became president. Governor Doug Ducey began building the barrier in the Coronado National Forest earlier this year in response to what his office described as an "ominous increase" in the number of migrant crossings.

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ZALENSKY TO CONGRESS