hello. our top stories. catholics in st. peter's square and around the world await pope francis's traditional christmas message. we'll bring it to you here live. the controversial film "the interview" gets its first outing in cinemas and online, after a cyber attack and row over its release. the u.s. military dismisses claims by islamic state militants that they shot down a jordanian war plane in syria. jordan confirms one of his pilots has been captured.

hello, and a very warm welcome. we begin with events in vatican city, where pope francis is due to deliver his annual christmas day message very shortly. we can show you now the scene live at st. peter's square, where i understand hundreds of thousands of people have gathered. you can see them there. it's the pope's second christmas as pontiff. and his second message to the city and to the world. i think we can go live to our correspondent in rome, james reynolds. james, his speech is expected to

helicopter the the continue the theme of empathy for the refugees, which the pope highlighted in his midnight mass hominy, isn't he? >> yes. the pope every year at this time essentially delivers a state of the world address. but we would expect pope francis to touch on many of the world's most troubling conflicts, and to call for peace in those conflicts, and we would expect a catholic pope to weave in a christian message with that. i've just come back from those crowds in st. peter's square. they were all taking pictures of those marching bands and they're all looking up towards that balcony to hear what the pope has to say. >> he's had an incredibly busy year, hasn't he? really keen to present himself as an agent of change in the vatican. >> yes. he came to office as a reforming pope, and everything he's done since then suggested that is what he wanted to do. he wants to reform the way that his own people run the church.

the civil service, the archbishops, the cardinals, the way they deal with the rest of the world. and here he is about to begin. >> yes, he is. let's have a listen. [ applause ] [ speaking foreign language ] >> translator: the son of god, the world is born for us. born in bethlehem of a virgin, fulfilling the ancient prophesies. the virgin's name is mary, the wife of joseph. humble people, full of hope and the goodness of god are those who welcome jesus and recognize him.

and so the holy spirit enlightened the shepherds of bethlehem, who adored the child. then the spirit led the elderly couple into the temple of jerusalem and they recognized in jesus the messiah. my eyes have seen your salvation, simeon exclaimed, the salvation prepared by god in the sight of all people. yes, brothers and sisters, jesus is the salvation for every person and for every people. i ask him, the savior of the world, to look upon our brothers and sisters in iraq and syria, who for too long now have suffered the effects of ongoing conflict, and who together with those belonging to other ethnic

and religious groups are suffering a brutal persecution. may christmas bring hope, with many exiles, refugees, children, adults, and elderly, from this region and from the whole world. may indifference be changed to end closeness and rejection into hospitality, so that all who now are suffering may receive the necessary humanitarian help to overcome the rigors of winter, return to their countries and live with dignity. may the lord open hearts to trust and may he bestow his peace upon the whole middle east, beginning with the land

blessed by his birth, thereby sustaining the efforts of those committed effectively to dialogue between israelis and palestinians. may jesus, the savior of the world, protect all who suffer in ukraine, and grant that their beloved land overcome tensions, conquer hatred and violence, and set out on a new journey of fraternity and reconciliation. may christ, the savior, give peace to nigeria. where more blood is being shed and too many people are unjustly deprived of their possessions, held as hostages, or killed. i invoke peace also on the other

i invoke peace also on the other parts of the african continent, thinking especially of libya, south sudan, the central african republic, and various regions of the democratic republic of the congo. i beseech all who have political responsibility to commit themselves through dialogue to overcoming differences and to building a lasting, fraternal co-existence. may jesus save the vast numbers of children who are victims of violence, trade and trafficking,

forced to become soldiers. may he give comfort to the families of the children killed in pakistan last week. may he be close to all who suffer from illness, especially the victims of the ebola epidemic, above all in liberia, sierra leone, and in guinea. as i thank all who are courageously dedicated to assisting the sick and their family members, i once more make an urgent appeal that the necessary assistance and treatment be provided. my thoughts go to all children today.

sick or poorly treated. he calls for us to care all children who are mistreated, even under our eyes. even for them, christ, the christ child is born. their impotent sound cries out.

truly, there are so many tears this christmas. together with the tears of the infant jesus. dear brothers and sisters, may the holy spirit today enlighten our hearts, that we may recognize in the baby jesus, born in bethlehem of the virgin mary, the salvation given by god to each one of us. to each man and woman and to all the peoples of the earth. may the power of christ, which brings freedom and health, to so many affected by war, persecution, and slavery.

may this divine power by its meekness take away the hardness of heart of so many men and women immersed in worldliness and indifference. may his redeeming strength transform arms into shares, destruction into creativity, hatred into love and tenderness. then we will be able to cry out with joy, our eyes have seen your salvation. happy christmas to all. [ applause ]

>> that was pope francis giving his traditional christmas day blessing to the city of rome and to the world. and as we were hearing there, the pope addressing the plight of christians and other religious minorities suffering persecution in the middle east. notably, at the hands of islamic state. he also touched on the war in syria, and their ongoing conflict between israel and palestine. mentioned the ebola epidemic and the suffering in nigeria as a result of the islamic fundamentalist violence there. he called for the care of mistreated children. this was pope francis's second

christmas as pontificate. and his second urbi et orbi. well, let's stay with this theme, because in her annual christmas message, queen elizabeth has praised medical workers involved in the fight against ebola. she said she's been deeply touched by the selfless efforts of those doctors and nurses who have gone to west africa to tackle the outbreak. she's also spoken about the importance of reconciliation. in the message which is broadcast around the commonwealth. spain's new king has attacked corruption by public figures in his first christmas message to the nation and said it must be stamped out. felipe vi said people who enjoyed positions of public responsibility did not have the right to profit or become rich.

the king made no specific references to his sister, princess cristina, who has been indicted of two counts of tax fraud. the controversial film about a plot to kill the north korean leader has opened in some american cinemas, and been released online in the united states by sony pictures. the film was originally withdrawn because of threats by hackers. but viewers have been giving the film mixed reviews, as joe inwood reports. >> reporter: just a few days ago, it seemed this would never happen. a man at a cinema actually buying a ticket to see "the interview." sony had apparently caved into pressure from its main distributors not to screen the film. then, under fire from the white house, came a change of heart. >> look at this. >> kim jong-un wants to do an interview with dave skylark? >> he's a fan! >> reporter: now the film has opened on christmas day as scheduled, but only in a limited number of independent cinemas.

they number in the hundreds, not the thousands that were originally going to show the film. some cinema managers said it was more important to uphold free speech than buckle to a vague threat of terrorism. >> there's a much greater risk, and that's the risk to all of us that what we say and what we consume could be curtailed based on the threats of bullies. >> the decision to show the film has been welcomed. by one of its stars on social media. by other actors, including ben stiller. >> i'm glad it's being released. merry christmas, everybody. >> reporter: and as he relaxed in hawaii, by the president himself. even before it had been shown in the cinemas, "the interview" had been released online across several different platforms. but only in the united states. sony said the digital release showed cyber criminals have not been able to silence the studio. joe inwood, bbc news. stay with us here on "bbc world news."

lots more to come, including cracking down on the militants after the peshawar school massacre. pakistan will set up military courts to try terror suspects.

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this is "bbc world news." the latest headlines. pope francis uses his traditional christmas message to condemn the brutal persecution of minorities by islamic state militants and urges people not to be indifferent to suffering around the world. and sony released the controversial film "the interview" for the first time in the united states, despite hacking threats. it can be seen online and at a small number of cinemas. the u.s. says the jordanian plane that crashed in syria was not shot down by islamic state militants. the plane was lost in i.s. territory on wednesday morning and the pilot has been captured. jordan says the move won't deter

it from fighting terror. our middle east correspondent jim muir has this report. >> reporter: the kind of images that haunt the nations taking part this the war against i.s. a plane down in enemy territory, its pilot captured and humiliated by the militants. they were clearly jubilant. they offered prayers in thanks for this bounty. in jordan itself, a somber announcement from the military confirming the pilot's capture. it accused i.s. of carrying out mayhem and murder against innocents in syria and iraq, and held it fully responsible for the pilot's life. he's been identified, described by his family as a dedicated airman and a devout muslim who believed the extremists had to be combatted. can i.s. now use him as a bargaining trip to prise jordan

away from the coalition? that seems unlikely. >> jordan will continue its fight against terrorism and we know we will win, because this is the right thing to do and this is for the sake of our security and stability. of this country. >> reporter: at the pilot's home in southern jordan, great concern among friends and relatives. he comes from a well-known family. >> translator: we are asking our king to save moaz, to rescue him by any means. moaz is one of those that we hold dear. the whole tribe cherish him. >> reporter: activists on the ground said the plane came down in the eastern part of raqqah province. the american military insisted

it was not shot down, but crashed. as the militants retrieved bits of the jet, the americans and their allies were launching an urgent investigation, which they said would take some time. the plane's cockpit cover and other parts are now being shown off by i.s. as trophies. they have a ferocious record of butchering captives. the first lieutenant and his family will be praying he's more valuable to them alive than dead. jim muir, bbc news, beirut. pakistan is to set up military courts to speed up terrorism-related cases following a massacre at a school in peshawar. prime minister nawaz sharif said the move would help ensure terrorists pay the price for their heinous acts. he's also introduced other measures, including a ban of militants appearing in the media. >> translator: criminals involved in terrorist incidents in the past took advantage of weak laws to avoid a penalty.

therefore, special courts are being set up under the supervision of the military officer, so those who commit such crimes should be brought to court without delay. these special courts will start to function now for the next two years. >> prime minister nawaz sharif speaking there. now, 500 people are due to be executed in pakistan over the next few weeks after a moratorium on the death penalty was lifted last week. one of them is a man who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter as a minor in 2004. our pakistan correspondent shaimaa khalil has the details. >> reporter: a family in distress. their youngest member on death row for ten years. he was 14 when he was allegedly tortured into confessing murder and sentenced by an anti-terrorism court. now he's among those to be executed after pakistan lifted its moratorium on the death sentence.

he left home in search of a job more than a decade ago. his mother hasn't seen him since. >> translator: i feel like i'm going mad because of what's happened. i nearly lost my eyesight as i cry so much. my whole life has been destroyed. >> reporter: his legal team say they presented evidence to court, which showed he was under duress when he confessed and he was a minor at the time of conviction. they also say the case has nothing to do with militancy. his brother says he did not get a fair trial. >> translator: he was tortured for months. the court should consider how young he was back then. it will be a big injustice if he's hanged. >> reporter: his case is not the only one. lawyers here tell us that of the

500 people set to be executed in the next few weeks, at least 200 are now terror-related cases. there's huge pressure on both the political and the military leadership to prove that they can stand up to militants, but there are worries that with this wave of executions, the proper legal measures are not being followed. human rights organizations say the death penalty is not the answer to combatting militancy. >> i think what they're trying to say is that they're actually fighting terrorism. what i think in reality is it is vengeance, an act of vengeance. the lifting of the moratorium is a knee jerk reaction which has nothing to do with stopping acts in peshawar. it's just going to put people who have faced misguidance of justice on execution list. >> reporter: his lawyers say he could be hanged in the next few days after the court rejected their appeal. they'll have to take the case to the country's supreme court.

for his family now, there's nothing to do but wait and pray. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, islamabad. now, if you're watching us in the northern hemisphere, there's a good chance you'll be eating a big turkey roast and cuddle up around the fire today with family to enjoy christmas. but what are you doing if you're down under? well, here are some pictures that are just come into us from sydney. and that is bondai beach, one of the most popular stretches of coastline around the city. as you can see, no christmas turkeys there. the only thing roasting are the beach-goers. temperatures have been in the late 20s. lots of christmas hats, though. let's get a reminder of our top story. pope francis has used his traditional christmas message to condemn the brutal persecution of minorities by islamic state militants. he's also urged people not to be

indifferent to suffering around the world. if you want to get in touch with us here at "bbc world news," you can do so on social media. stay with us here on "bbc world news."

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hello. our top stories. pope francis has used his traditional christmas message to condemn the brutal religious persecution in the middle east and calls for peace around the world. >> translator: may indifference be changed to end closeness and rejection into hospitality, so that all who now are suffering may receive the necessary humanitarian help. >> the controversial film "the interview" gets its first outing in cinemas and online after a cyber attack