this is bbc news. i'm christian fraser. the headlines at 11am: the queen will miss the christmas day service at sandringham as she has a heavy cold. the duke of edinburgh and other members of the royal family are attending church on the norfolk estate. the duke and duchess of cambridge and their children go to church in the berkshire village of englefield. in her pre—recorded message later today, the queen will pay tribute to what she calls unsung heroes, like carers and volunteers. a search—and—rescue mission is underway in the black sea after a russian military plane bound for syria crashed with more than 90 people on board. at the vatican, the pope is giving his christmas blessing to thousands of spectators. visa and live pictures of the pope arriving on the central balcony at saint peters square —— these are

live pictures. good morning, and welcome to bbc news. the queen has missed the traditional christmas church service at sandringham. buckingham palace says she is suffering with a heavy cold. you'll remember that the queen and the duke of edinburgh delayed the start of their annual trip to sandringham last week, and took a shorter helicopter journey from buckingham palace rather than travelling by train. the rest of the royal family attended church at sandringham without the queen. the congregation included the duke of edinburgh, the prince of wales, the duchess of cornwall and prince harry. the earl of wessex, the county of wessex, and lady louise windsor, their daughter, was also there. the queen was suffering from a cold. and the duke of edinburgh as well. they delayed their trip to sandringham

last week, taking a short helicopter journey rather than travelling by train. let's go to sandringham now, and emilia papadopoulos is there for us. there were a lot of questions about whether she'd be fit enough to attend, she and the duke of edinburgh probe delayed their trip up edinburgh probe delayed their trip up here later in the week, both suffering with heavy colds. a lot of disappointment from the crowds, but they understand that at the age of 90 she does need to focus on her recovery. but we have been told that she will be participating in all the other events which will take place indoors, the christmas meal, the opening of presence, playing games, watching the speech later which she —— we know she likes to be privately, away from the family. she isa privately, away from the family. she is a bit under the weather. at the age of 90 she needs to focus on her recovery and get ready for all the new year and the busy things ahead for her. the duke and duchess of cambridge are spending christmas with the middleton family in berkshire. the royal couple, along with their two children, prince george and princess

charlotte, attended church in englefield, close to the middleton family home. earlier today we saw the royal couple with their two children. they we re couple with their two children. they were on their way into saint marks church in englefield, close to bucklebury, where kate's parents live. they look very happy. just behind them, you will see very shortly, we see pippa middleton, and also her mother, kate's mother, carol and her father, michael. also her mother, kate's mother, carol and herfather, michael. they are going into the church. 0bviously every family has that decision to make — which parents to spend christmas with. prince william normally spend it with the queen at sandringham, but this year they opted to spend it with the middletons. kerber is in the czech coach, just behind her is carole middleton —— paper. we will cross the sandringham when we get news from birth. —— from there.

president putin of russia has ordered an inquiry after a military plane heading for syria crashed into the black sea. the plane disappeared from radar 20 minutes after taking off from the resort of sochi. russia's defence ministry said there are no survivors. 92 people were on board the the tupolev—154, including servicemen and members of an army band due to give a concert in syria. rescue ships and helicopters are at the crash site six kilometres offshore — they have recovered four bodies and debris from the sea. these are pictures from the helicopters. a russian official says the crash could have been caused by a technical malfunction or a crew error, but suggested it could not have been terrorism because the plane was operated by the military. 0lga ivshina of the bbc russian service told me about tupolev—154, produced

by russian aerospace and defence company tupolev. the airliner is widely used in extreme arctic conditions. probably our audience would remember the air crash involving the president of poland. he was in the same aircraft. it would be quite optimistic to say that those aircraft are always safe, it they are considered to be relatively reliable. that is the reason it was chosen to be the number one polish aircraft for the president. they started to be produced in 1970. they we re started to be produced in 1970. they were modernised in the 1980s. but of course now those aircraft are considered to be quite old. they we re considered to be quite old. they were supposed to be step by step removed from the russian military. but obviously they are still flying. they are the workhorse of the military, and they? the red army

band are famous around the world, off to syria to play for soldiers based on syria at the moment. yes, they were supposed to congratulate them on the new year. according to them on the new year. according to the reports, 65 members of the band w011 the reports, 65 members of the band won the aeroplane, mainly singers. it is quite usual for them to perform, you know, nearly active service, as it were, boosting the morale in the army and congratulating soldiers at various holidays. this was just another occasion. it's not theirfirst holidays. this was just another occasion. it's not their first trip to syria. it all looked quite usual up to syria. it all looked quite usual up until the moment the aeroplane disappeared from the radar. reading the news, they say there was communication with the tower as normal, it was only six or seven kilometres away from saatchi. and then nothing. ajust disappeared from the radar. it is early to say what caused the crash. but we can see, you know, the wreckage has spread over quite a distance of 15

kilometres. it is quite a lot. it is too early to talk about what happened exactly. but experts note that such a huge territory means that such a huge territory means that it exploded in the air, it started to dismantle in the air. also travelling with the musicians, there were journalists going out to cover it. there were nine journalists, three russian tv crews stop white of a well—known in russia? they are relatively, they are not stars, but they are staff reporters. the first channel is the most popular channel in the country. two more channels, one of them belonging to the ministry of defence. quite a number of people, there is still some confusion of how many people were there exactly, 92, maybe 93. because while some of them belong to the ministry of defence, we don't know their names, some of them might be top—secret official.

the president has already spoken. and he's put president medvedev in charge of the investigation. that means it is at the very highest level? if the prime minister is in charge of the investigation, that means a lot. mr putin wants to show that he is in control of the situation. it's interesting to see how quickly they say that it's not a terrorist act or something like this. they just want to terrorist act or something like this. theyjust want to bring the message that the situation is under control and we will look into the cause of the matter. it's the last thing that they want to happen that close to the new year. now it is just a recovery operation, no survivors? the ministry of defence arejust a few survivors? the ministry of defence are just a few minutes, has confirmed that there are no survivors and they have already started to identify some of the bodies. sad news for so many families on christmas day. one line from the kremlin. president putin declaring monday a day of national mourning in russia in memory of those who have died. we are keeping

guy on christmas services, which are ongoing at the moment. we will be bouncing around in the next few minutes —— we are keeping our eye on. tens of thousands of people have gathered at the vatican to hear the pope deliver his christmas message. this is the scene live in the vatican city, where the pope is delivering his christmas day message. thousands of people in saint peters square this morning, as is usual, of course. security is heightened for this christmas weekend after the events in berlin earlier last week. and so they closed off the square for six hours before the mass started at the basilica last night so that security could unfold. i think we do have some translation, let's dip in and see what he is saying. translation: we implore harmony for the dear people of colombia, which seeks to embark on a new and courageous path of dialogue and

reconciliation. may such coverage also motivate the beloved third country of venezuela to undertake the necessary steps to put an end the necessary steps to put an end the current tensions and build together a future of hope for whole population. peace to all who, in different areas, are enduring suffering is due to constant dangers and persistent injustice. niemeyer, consolidate its efforts to promote —— may myanmar consolidate its efforts and provide necessary protection and assistance to all of those who bravely and urgently need it. may the korean peninsular see

the tensions it is experiencing ove 1120 m e the tensions it is experiencing overcome in a renewed spirit of corporation. peace to those who have lost a person dear to them as a result of but so much brutal acts of terrorism. and to those who have sown fear and doubt into the hearts of so many countries and cities. peace, not merely the word, but a real and concrete peace to our abandoned and excluded brothers and sisters. to those who suffer hunger, and the wall of the victims of violence. —— to all of the victims of violence. peace to textiles, migrants and refugees. to all those, who, in ourday migrants and refugees. to all those, who, in our day off subject to human trafficking. peace to the pupils who

suffer because of the economic ambitions of the few, because of the sheer greed and the idolatry of money. which leads to slavery. peace to those affected by social and economic unrest, and to those who enjoy the consequences of earthquakes and other natural catastrophes —— to those who in your —— to those who endure. peace to the children and this special day on which god became a child, all those deprived of the joys of childhood because of hunger or the selfishness of adults. studio: pope francis on the central balcony at the basilica speaking to thousands of people in saint peters square today. let's speak to our rome correspondent, david willey. hello, david. merry christmas to

you. you have watched many of these addresses from the pope by that balcony, i know. there is a theme over the weekend that we have heard from the pope about the children, in particular those children suffering in war—torn areas like syria. indeed. this morning he has strengthened his message of peace. i've been counting the number of times he mentioned the word piece in what is a rather short address. he uses this word more than 20 times. i think it would be difficult to recall an occasion on which we have seen a more impassioned plea by a pope, not only by pope francis but all his many predecessors. for this traditional christmas day message, which of course tends to be centred on the need for peace in the world we re on the need for peace in the world were conflicts seem to be getting

worse every year. in fact, pope francis has said on one occasion that he thinks that we are already ina that he thinks that we are already in a state of world war three. if you look at the amount, the number of conflicts that are taking place in different parts of the world. of conflicts that are taking place in different parts of the worldlj did mention before you came to us, david, that security had been very tight over the weekend in saint peters square, naturally after the events in berlin of course. yes, the authorities here have banned the entry into the centre of rome of all trucks and vans. the main street leading up to the vatican has been closed to all traffic. and the police are asking for identity documents from everybody who goes near saint peters square, and they are putting them through the metal detectors as well. i've also seen

quite a number of armed soldiers on the street leading up to the vatican this morning. david, always good to see you, thank you for being with us this christmas day. let's remind you of the headlines on bbc news. the queen will miss the christmas day service at sandringham as she has a heavy cold. the duke of edinburgh and other members of the royal family are attending church on the norfolk estate. the pope has been giving his christmas blessing in front of thousands of spectators. a search—and—rescue mission is underway in the black sea after a russian military plane bound for syria crashed with more than 90 people on board. britain's senior anglican and catholic archbishops are addressing uncertainty in their christmas sermons. later this morning, archbishop of canterburyjustin welby will talk about fear and division in the world as 2016 draws to a close. last night, the archbishop of

westminster spoke of similar issues. here's our religious affairs correspondent, martin bashir. a traditional start to christmas and a solemn midnight mass at westminster cathedral. cardinal vincent nichols began his sermon by quoting the poet wb yeats, referring to a turbulent year, with many fearing that things may fall apart, that the centre cannot hold. i think, the last six months in particular has seen a widespread anxiety and uncertainty at many levels, in life in this country and in those major partnerships and neighbours that we have. so, with europe, with america, with the middle east, financially, economically. it's an unsettling time. # oh, come, let us adore him...#

the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, will also address the division and uncertainty that has marked global politics. cardinal nichols said the answer to our insecurity was neither materialism nor the pursuit of selfish interest, but rather a renewed focus on the life of christ. cardinal nichols concluded his midnight sermon by emphasising the fact of christ's birth, which he said was marked in time, recorded in the gospels and celebrated today. let's show you some pictures we have just had in from st mary magdelene church in sandringham. there you can just see the royal family going through the main doors. there is the duke of edinburgh with the duchess

of wessex, i think. the countess of wessex, i should say. there is harry taking his coat off, going in as well. the crowd have been that since 6am this morning. they have been moved to the paddock area in front of the church as the family were going in. we will probably see them going in. we will probably see them going out. we will bring you those pictures. they do traditionally go and speak to anybody who has come to see them, so we will bring you that. a 19—year—old man has died after being stabbed at a club in northumberland. police were called to the scene at the workmen's club, on front street in cramlington, just before 10:30pm last night. the victim was taken to hospital, but died from his injuries. a 35—year—old man and a 36—year—old woman have been arrested on suspicion of murder. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news this morning. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has cut some of his country's funding to united nations agencies. he's responding to friday night's un security council resolution demanding an end to settlement activities in the occupied palestinian territory.

he said the resolution was was biased and shameful. thousands of people are being urged to leave their homes in the philippines as a super typhoon roars towards the country's east coast. typhoon nok—ten is expected to hit today, bringing winds of nearly 160 mph. dozens of ports have been closed, as officials warn of potentially deadly two—metre waves. tributes have been paid to status quo's rick parfitt, who's died in hospital in spain at the age of 68. the guitarist had suffered a series of health problems and picked up a serious infection. the queen guitarist brian may said he had "truly joyfully rocked our world", while midge ure said the news was "dreadfully sad". the american president—elect donald trump says he intends to close his charitable foundation to avoid any conflict of interest with his presidency. the trump foundation is currently being investigated by

new york's attorney general to establish whether it supported a republican political campaign in florida in 2013. lynn sweet is a political commentator with the chicago sun—times. at the bottom line here is that donald trump does not give any of his own money to the foundation. he has not given any of his own money between 2009 and 2014, so at the heart of this is a foundation that goes to other people to ask for money. then there is another set of controversies, and this is what the attorney general in new york is looking at, is whether or not there is self dealing. you're not supposed to use a non—profit foundation in the united states to make political contributions, or to help your business. that's at the heart of it. for all of you passionate skiers out

there, here is a tale which will fill you with dread. more than 100 skiers have been rescued after being trapped in cable cars above the mountains in italy. one of the ski lifts failed in high winds, leaving people swinging 30 metres in the air as they headed back to the valley after a day on the slopes. caroline davies reports. lowered back to firm ground after hours stuck hanging above it. these skiers in italy were rescued and winched to safety after strong winds stopped their cable cars. the breakdown happened in northern italy at the alpine resort of cervinia, close to the swiss border. it is one of europe's highest skiing resorts, and skiers were stuck at an altitude of over 2,500 metres while rescuers tried to reach them. heavy wind meant rescuers could not use helicopters to help those trapped. there was much wind, this rescuer said. we stopped at the pillar and remained there for two hours. now there are the first rescue operations. it took over eight hours to bring down more than 130 stranded skiers.

fortunately, the weather was mild and none suffered from cold exposure. we have been lucky, this skier says, the gondola was heavy but there were moments with gusts of 150 kilometres per hour during which the gondolas were almost horizontal. a scary moment. the resort said on social media that no—one was in danger during the rescue. those safely out were pleased to be back before christmas. caroline davies, bbc news. we hope you are having a very enjoyable day with your family. christmas is a time for family — but if you don't have one, it can be difficult. the poet lemn sissay knows exactly how that feels. he was fostered as a baby, but when he turned 12, his foster family gave him up. he spent the next five years in and out of children's homes. that's why each year he organises special christmas dinners for young people who've left care.

breakfast‘s jayne mccubbin went to meet him as he prepared for one of those dinners in hackney. not everyone has someone at christmas. this isn't my... you're better with words. i'm better with words. lemn sissay understands this. author, poet, broadcaster, orphan. there was nobody there. you were on your own? yeah, i was on my own. if i visited a friend's house, i often felt i was the boy with no family who was going to visit families, you know? # jingle bells, jingle all the way.# here in hackney he is getting ready for one of his care leavers‘ christmas dinners — a project that has grown from one city to five cities in four years. all of the gifts here have been donated by strangers, and the parties will all be run by volunteers. do we really not know the words tojingle bells?

the only reason we do the christmas dinner is so that those young care leavers go away with a memory that they can look onto next year. that's all christmas is — it's the making of a memory for you to look onto next year. so we all come around the christmas dinner table and we all remember, "we did this last year and it was incredible". for a lot of care leavers, the memory was a bad one from the year before. we are creating memories. this is his passion, and for the team that passion is infectious. this is amanda, who is sorting everybody out. am i right? we have 20 volunteers — 60 young people, four hairstylists, artists, musicians, social workers coming down to do a really amazing christmas day for young people. it's gonna be amazing. this is sabrina, who is the hair woman and stylist

and she is pretty incredible! as a care leaver myself, i know how important it is to give self—esteem and to feel like people care. this incredible man is ryan. ryan is going to be the chef for the evening. when i was 14, i went into temporary foster care for a weekend and it sort of turned into nearly five years. christmas is about family, and not everyone is lucky enough to have it. the best part of the day was sitting down and having a meal with all the people. messages from previous dinners showjust how much they mean to care leavers. everyone looks happy. i won't ever forget this day! everything was spot on. amazed by it, amazed by everything. i hope they have one next year as well! and that is totally the plan.

all: merry christmas! well done to the team. one year on since their arrival in the uk, the bbc caught up with a syrian family who were one of the first to be brought over as part of the government's vulnerable persons resettlement programme. the ayo family now lives in coventry, but it's a big change. two of their children have visible scars from a suicide bomb. frankie mccamley reports on how they're settling in to their new home. a year on, and with a new addition to the family, this couple and their two young children were among the first to come to the country under a government scheme to resettle vulnerable refugees. translation: it is a big change for us. it made us forget our concerns, especially for the little girls. they are much happier now. the uk has been good for us. the only issue is the language,

but we are trying to learn. but it is very different from our country. the family have spent the year settling into their new home in coventry. translation: the community is nice, the people are quite nice. we miss home for sure, but what can we do? the children go to school, they are happy. we are happy. they were forced to leave syria after a bomb exploded while out with others celebrating a kurdish spring festival. their nine—year—old and six—year—old were left seriously injured. they were taken to iraq for urgent treatment before being brought to this country. the government pledged to resettle an extra 20,000 refugees last year. more than 150 people are making this city their new home. the girls are at a school in the local area. it's really fun and they

teach us really well. the teachers are good. it is really good. is the weather different? yes. sometimes it rains. and it is cold. both still need to undergo surgery, but, for this family, their focus is on their new lives and what the future may bring. it is almost 11:30am. if you are thinking of going out for a walk before the christmas lunch, today is a very good day to do it, because the temperatures are quite warm. merry christmas to you. it is a mild christmas, it doesn't quite get you into the feel of it if you are looking out the window now. a combination of wet and windy weather. and on northern ireland, a weather. and on northern ireland, a weather front is making

weather. and on northern ireland, a weatherfront is making its weather. and on northern ireland, a weather front is making its way south. further south than that, less in the way of breeze, still a noticeable breeze but it is breaking up noticeable breeze but it is breaking up the cloud as it comes over the mountains. the eastern side of the pennines, watch out for the gusts if you are on higher or exposed ground oi’ you are on higher or exposed ground or if you are travelling, don't get caught out. the weather front is coming down, winds will be gusty in wales and the midlands. behind the weather front we see the change from the really mild stuff, certainly a good deal could. we have storm connor the content with, getting close to the shetland isles, 80 mph gusts, plenty of wintry showers and tricky conditions in the mountains of northern britain. further south, it's a glorious day, if somewhat cooler than today. hello. this is bbc news with christian fraser. a merry christmas to you. the headlines at 11.30am. the queen will miss the christmas day service at sandringham, as she has a heavy cold.

the duke of edinburgh and other members of the royal family are on their way to church on the norfolk estate. in her pre—recorded message to the commonwealth later today, the queen will say she draws strength from "ordinary people doing extraordinary things" such as carers and volunteers. prince william is spending christmas with kate's family, the middleton ‘s. a search and rescue mission is underway in the black sea after a russian military plane bound for syria crashed with more than ninety people on board. the pope has told thousands of spectators that too much blood has been spilled in syria. let's ta ke let's take you back to sandringham. we can show you pictures of the loyal family. there is we can show you pictures of the loyalfamily. there is prince charles, out at the front. the duke of edinburgh is with them. the earl

and countess of wessex are also there. there's the family going through the main gate at saint mary magdalene church on the sandringham estate. some big crowds today, amelia? around 2000 people have lined the path up to the church here on the estate and they were rewarded for their hours of waiting in the cold and win —— winter this morning. as you mention, prince harry also behind the princesses, beatrice and eugenie. princess and, and her two granddaughters, i love and savannah to have been seen for the first time. the duke of edinburgh is also

suffering from a heavy cold. he is accounted by the countess of wessex. the queen is indoors, resting and recovering. there was also no sign of her granddaughter zara phillips. but that's to be expected. she sadly lost her child that was due in the spring, so she and her husband, mike tindall were not here. the duchess of cambridge is in berkshire with the duke of cambridge, spending their christmas there. the carols are being broadcasted tv audience here and in order of service handed out a quote of —— handed out to quite a few people. they will greet the crowd before heading back to the house for christmas lunch and settling down and to watch the queen's speech. the queen will still

be having christmas lunch. today is really about coming together and catching up after a very busy year. it's good to see that the crowd had been rewarded with a lovely day there. amelia, thank you very much. the queen will be taking part in the rest of the day and they will be sitting down for lunch very promptly at 115 pm in sandringham. we will now turn our attention to some glitter. now, if you're already missing the excitement this year's strictly come dancing had to offer, i've got some good news for you. later today, there'll be a strictly christmas special, where dancers past and present will tango, jive and cha—cha it out to get another chance of winning that coveted glitterball trophy. naga munchetty went behind the scenes to take a look at what gives the christmas episode that fabulous magic and sparkle. it may not look like much from the outside.

but, behind closed doors, it's a different story. in her welcome to elstree studios, the home of strictly come dancing. this is where the magic happens. it's been another year of sparkles, sambas and salsas and last weekend, 0re 0dube wowed the judges and audience becoming champion with joanne clifton. if it on and from len. it's a ten from len. it was an emotional end to the series as the grandfather of strictly len goodman bid an emotionalfarewell after leading the judging panel since the programme started 12 years ago. but he's back for one last time with six former contestants taking to the stage for a christmas feast that will not disappoint. ina

so, what does it take to put a festive bonanza 5th of a show like this together? behind the scenes at strictly, all these fantastic costumes. so much work goes into these. ican i can tell you but i'm not the right person to tell you. this department is where it all happens. jane, hello! the christmas show is christmas themes. we've got love actually, home alone, frozen. is there more glitter or more snow? a bit of both. always more glitter. we endeavour to make everything sparkly and christmassy. taking part in this year's series threw me out of my comfort zone completely. it was totally different to anything i'd ever done before, but i loved every minute of it. and coming back to the studios, well, it was like i had never been away. bumping into familiar faces, catching up with old friends. and how are this year's competitors finding it? like giving birth.

you remember the good bits, not how scary it is to get out on the dance floor. my family are coming to me for christmas and we always watch strictly. isa my mum hasn't been on social media, and has been away and doesn't know i'm doing the christmas special. what should we expect from you? i'm doing the charleston. music from elf. it's very quick but it's very fun. i'm working on my swivel. he's got it! my charleston isn't. .. you've got heels. tell us about the outfit. your theme is frozen, you're elsa. elsa. the handsome prince. wave and ? wave and? i don't know. we had to

make do. where is he? i don't know. we had to make do. he's so popular. he's magnetic. the pink bowtie, it does it all. it's a privilege for me. it's mine. i'm the luckiest. too much love here! i still have my backstage privileges and managed to sneak into bros star matt goss's room before the show. i'm singing white christmas. i've been here a few times now and i'm always amazed at the sets. they throw everything at it. i've been here a feed times now and am always amazed by the amount of detail that goes into the production and the set. in the meantime, merry christmas from everyone on the dance floor. merry christmas, breakfast! have a wonderful, brilliant christmas day. we hope you have joyful family cuddles, best presents,

full of christmas cheer. you can catch the strictly christmas special later today on bbc one, at 6.45pm. stay with us. we will be joining bbc 0ne stay with us. we will be joining bbc one for stay with us. we will be joining bbc 0ne foran early stay with us. we will be joining bbc one for an early summary of the lunchtime news. and good morning. for the first time in almost 30 years the queen has missed the christmas day church service at sandringham. buckingham palace say she's still recovering from a heavy cold. later today, in a pre—recorded christmas broadcast, she will speak of drawing strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things. 0ur royal correspondent,

nicholas witchell, reports. and remains in sandringham with heavy cold. and her absence from the church service for the first time in many years is understood to be precautionary measure. there is no sense of undue concern. also absent from sandringham at the duke and duchess of cambridge and their children. they attended church in berkshire with the middleton ‘s. in her christmas day broadcast, recorded several weeks ago, the queen talks about inspiration. she

reflects on the achievements of the 0lympic reflects on the achievements of the olympic and paralympic athletes, many of whom she met in october. when she has marked her 90th birthday —— she has marked her 90th birthday. she will also talk about the work of many unsung heroes that she meets around the country, ordinary people as she puts it doing extraordinary things. a russian military plane with more than 90 people on board has crashed into the black sea. the plane was carrying 64 members of the renowned red army choir and was heading from sochi to latakia in syria. the russian defence ministry says there are no survivors. from moscow, steve rosenberg sent this report church leaders from moscow, steve rosenberg sent this report. church leaders if the plane taken off from a

military airfield in moscow. it flew south stuff in sochi to refuel. the final destination was syria. minutes after leaving, it crashed. at the russian defence ministry, a spokesman said that more than 90 people on board the plane. he said the recovery operation was continuing. 0n the recovery operation was continuing. on board, there were 60 members of the russian army's song and dance ensemble, the red army choir. they'd been flying to give a concert at an army base. most aircraft have stopped —— russian airlines have stopped using the tu-isil airlines have stopped using the tu—154. this was after the polish

president crashed in russia were trying to land. the following year, a similar plane caught fire before take—off in siberia. now an investigation begins into the disaster to find out why this plane fell from the sky into the sea. bbc news, moscow. church leaders are using their christmas sermons to reflect on the emotional impact of global events in 2016. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, told his congregation that the end of the year leaves people in a less predictable world. 0ur religious affairs correspondent martin bashir reports. enter in canterbury cathedral in time—honoured fashion, justin welby will be focusing on the uncertainty and division that has marked both domestic and international politics over the last year. he describes 2016 as the year of unpredictability and uncertainty, with fear and

division in danger of overwhelming us. he went on to suggest that our anxiety is a clear sign that placing oui’ anxiety is a clear sign that placing our trust in material prosperity has failed. in rhyme, where additional security was in place following the burning attack, pope francis also criticised materialism and appealed to christians to stand out as people of compassion and self sacrifice. martin bashir, abc news. martin bashir, bbc news. that's it for now, the next news on bbc1 will be at ten to three. merry christmas. here are back with us at bbc news.

just to show you some pictures coming from burke share. here are the duke and duchess of cambridge leaving saint mark's church. you can see prince george with his father. just behind him, there is the duchess of cambridge is with 18—month—old princess charlotte who looks very much the part, doesn't she? in the shawl, that is carole middleton and michael, kate's pa rents. middleton and michael, kate's parents. we've also seen her sister, pippa middleton. slightly and usual for prince william to spend the day away from sandringham, but like everybody else, sometimes you got to decide which family to spend

christmas with and this year is the turn of kate's parents. many well—wishers there today as there are in sandringham. the queen hasn't been there today because she is suffering a heavy cold. the duke of edinburgh appears to have recovered and we've seen him going into the church. they are going into their car now and off no doubt of their christmas lunch. ifjames if james patterson is ifjames patterson is one if james patterson is one of the year ‘s biggest selling authors. to date he has sold more than 350 million copies of his books around the world and he's the most borrowed

author and uk libraries. but that's not enough forjames patterson. he once had bigger audience, selling books to people who he thinks have abandoned reading and his solution is called book shops. is called book shots. so, welcome, james. what are book shots? they are under 150 pages, relatively inexpensive and hopefully impossible to put down. it's like a regular book except at 150 pages. with one of these, you can get on a

train, get home and you've read one, which you've accomplished something which you've accomplished something which is critical. see the slogan is, all very last, no filler, so what will make somebody buy one of these? book shots is like leading -- reading a movie. so if you like alex cross, then his one you haven't read before but it will happen so quickly. in england, we are going to start with six. there one about the royals, which is kind of fun. there's one about a diamond heist. i pulled out these eight very deep drawers, and i have 107 of these look shots, that are either finished oi’ look shots, that are either finished or in process and i would say out of

those, 80 of them are stories i have created, so it's like, oh, my god. i think the readers, this is going to bea think the readers, this is going to be a real boon. because they're addictive. you've written some of them, but like you're full—length novels, you employ a team of co—writers. can you tell us how that works in practice? i wrote over 2000 pages of outlines last year, and they are always three or four d rafts, they are always three or four drafts, so it's insane, that amount of writing. when i once co—write, i will normally write an outline and thenit will normally write an outline and then it goes chapter by chapter. what i would do with the co—writer isi what i would do with the co—writer is i will say please contribute to the outline, because that is useful

and it gets the co—writer feeling involved in the process. the template for the blossom: what scotla nd template for the blossom: what scotland needs to —— book shots, it means you can't see, feel, tastes, if it's not moving forward, i will say, hold see, feel, tastes, if it's not moving forward, iwill say, hold it! we've lost something here. 0ccasionally, perhaps i didn't figure out the outline correctly. perhaps sometimes the co—writer is... you know. if you look at them, they are smaller, thinner. so hopefully on the planes and trains you will see people reading this smaller books. i've read that you

work seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year. is that true? do you take a day for day? christmas would be a very light day, but generally a seven days a week. someone said you are lucky that you find something you like to do and it's a miracle if somebody will pay you to do it. that is my situation. this has been the most fun year of my life. i love to tell stories. so i had the alex cross series, and ifelt tell stories. so i had the alex cross series, and i felt we don't need any more hardback... so there was no place for me to let my imagination go, and now there is. i will have more content than marvel by the end of the year. you are known as the busiest man in publishing, but you are also good at

championing literacy also why is that important? the most important thing to me is getting kids reading. if they don't become competent readers, expect a —— especially children at risk, how are they going to getjobs, if they are ten or 11—year—old with no competence, they are going to be a drag on society, on the city, on all of us and it's good to make a hard life for them. as individuals, i can't do much to solve global warming, or a health ca re solve global warming, or a health care crisis, but as an individual, we can all for one get the kids in oui’ we can all for one get the kids in our homes reading. we can help the local school, the local libraries. they are big issue now. that's huge. i hate people will stand up and say that our libraries are really

important at win —— and that we need money for them. is this because you had a son who was a reluctant reader? he's a bright guy but when he was eight years old, that some, we said, you are going to read every day and he said, yes, but do i have two ? day and he said, yes, but do i have two? and we said yes, unless you wa nt to two? and we said yes, unless you want to live in raj. we said that it would be painless and we would find books that he liked. we looked at percy jackson, and by books that he liked. we looked at perchackson, and by the books that he liked. we looked at percy jackson, and by the end books that he liked. we looked at perchackson, and by the end of books that he liked. we looked at percy jackson, and by the end of the summer he had read a dozen books and then his reading skills went up, and ultimately he had a perfect school in his sats. so he's going to couege in his sats. so he's going to college next year. so in terms of what can happen if we take charge with our children, your child. make

it our responsibility. there is nothing more important for a mother, father, grandparent do than to read. do you hanker after writing the great american novel?|j do you hanker after writing the great american novel? i have already. they are just commercial! no, ithink already. they are just commercial! no, i think what i do serves the person. i hope it says, james kept a lot of people up at night. i hope this revelation will change the way people read. just before we get the headlines,

let me show you some pictures from sandringham. here's the royals leaving sandringham church. the duke of edinburgh has had a heavy cold himself but he looks quite well there and he's in the company, just in the shadows there, there's prince harry, i think. in the shadows there, there's prince harry, ithink. we in the shadows there, there's prince harry, i think. we can see prince charles as well. he takes his faith very seriously. he's been speaking passionately at in recent days about religious hatred and more welcoming attitude to those fleeing persecution. i dare say we will hear more about that in the queen's speech at 3pm. she is not with them as she has a heavy cold. let's get a check on the weather now.

0ne one or two ambitious hats there. one oi’ one or two ambitious hats there. one or two winter coats. but i don't know that we need them. that's the temperature profile we have at the moment. 13—14dc. the record temperature of the christmas day in the uk's 15. 6 temperature of the christmas day in the uk's 15.6 celsius. a temperature of the christmas day in the uk's15.6 celsius. a lot of isobars and windy elsewhere. if you are isobars and windy elsewhere. if you a re close isobars and windy elsewhere. if you are close to this weather front then the winds will pick up. gusts of 60-70 the winds will pick up. gusts of 60—70 mph. this cold front will take away this mechanism for all of us eventually. as we come further south, there are breaks in the cloud, especially in the hills in the west. there's enough by the way of clouds for bits and pieces of

rain. through the evening and down comes that weather front, slowly but surely, down across the country. behind it, clearer skies with colder air moving in. stilla raft behind it, clearer skies with colder air moving in. still a raft of showers there as well. the main thing will be worried about on boxing day, which is storm,. we could be looking at something similarto barbara. we could be looking at something similar to barbara. we could be looking at gusts of around 80 mph, and many wintry showers. not a day for the hills. we are licking at boxing day as a much brighter day —— looking at. it will be much fresher

day on tuesday than what we've had a —— of late. tuesday and wednesday's high—pressure and high dominance, so it will be colder both by day and by night as it is just now. we've got fog developing. this is bbc news. i'm christian fraser. the headlines at midday: the queen misses the christmas day service at sandringham as she has a heavy cold. the duke of edinburgh and other members of the royal family were at church on the norfolk estate. in berkshire, the duke and duchess

of cambridge took prince george and princess charlotte to church. they're spending christmas with kate's family, the middletons. more than 60 members of a celebrated russian military band are among the missing after a plane crashed in the black sea on its way to syria. also in the next hour: the pope calls for an end to the war in syria in his christmas message at the vatican. pope francis tells thousands of spectators that "too much blood has been spilled", and urges world leaders to negotiate a peace deal.