this is bbc news. i'm christian fraser. the headlines at 1pm: 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. meanwhile in berkshire, the duke and duchess of cambridge took prince george and princess charlotte to communion. 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. a search—and—rescue mission is underway in the black sea. president putin announces a day of mourning tomorrow. also in the next hour: the pope uses his christmas mass at the vatican to call for an end to the war in syria. pope francis tells thousands of spectators that "it's time for weapons to be still for ever", and urges world leaders to negotiate a peace deal. and in half an hour, i'll be looking back at a diverse year in film, from

hollywood superhero is the home—grown hits and fabulous foreign—language films. that's with me, mark kermode. good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. merry christmas. 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. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, reports. morning service at sandringham — part of the royal family's christmas day routine. but with one significant absentee this year — the queen.

while other members of her family, including the duke of edinburgh, gathered at the church, the queen remained at sandringham house, continuing to recover from what buckingham palace described as a heavy cold. in a short statement, the palace said she would take part in the family's celebrations. her absence from the church service, the first time in many years she hasn't attended, is understood to be a precautionary measure. there is no sense of undue concern. also absent from sandringham were the duchess and duke of cambridge and their children, george and charlotte. they attended church in the berkshire village of bucklebury, where they are spending christmas day with the duchess‘s family, the middletons. in her christmas day broadcast, recorded at buckingham palace several weeks ago, the queen talks about inspiration. she reflects on the achievements of olympic and paralympic athletes from britain and the commonwealth, many of whom she met at a palace reception in october. and in this year, when the queen has marked her 90th birthday, she will refer to the inspirational work of the many charities with which she has been associated during her reign. she will also talk about the work of the many unsung heroes she meets around the country —

carers, community leaders and good neighbours. 0rdinary people, as she puts it, doing extraordinary things. nicholas witchell, bbc news. let's go to sandringham now, and emilia papadopoulos is there for us. the crowds are drifting away. but they did catch sight of the duke of edinburgh, who was well enough to attend today. yes, that's right. we we re attend today. yes, that's right. we were unsure this morning whether he would attend. both he and the queen had heavy colds which saw them delay their trip had heavy colds which saw them delay theirtrip up had heavy colds which saw them delay their trip up the sandringham from london earlier this week. he arrived by car, accompanied by the countess of wessex and the rest of the family, led by the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall, walked the 330 yards from the house up to st mary magdalen is church for their traditional christmas day service. prince harry was also there, princesses beatrice and usually, and also savannah and violet phillips,

the queen's great—granddaughter is made their debut at church today. there was a lot of disappointment that her majesty hasn't made it, but they still got to see a lot of the other members of the family. after the service, prince harry and the prince of wales greeted the crowds. they collected cards and spoke to a lot of the people that had been here since 6am this morning, waiting to catch a glimpse of them. i spoke to quite a few of them afterwards and they said it was well worth the wait to see them. of course the duke of edinburgh, who also made it by car. i now there is hardly anybody here. 3000 people were here not too long ago, but they have gone home for christmas lunch, as have the royal family. they are just beginning their traditional christmas lunch at sandringham now. we believe the queen is going to participate in all those celebrations at the house today. after lunch, which is pencilled in for 50 minutes, they will settle down to watch the

queen's speech at 3pm. they will do what most families duke and christmas day, play games, open presents, go for a walk. —— what most families do one christmas day. this is all about spending time together after a very busy year. thank you, emilia. and our royal correspondent nicholas witchell told me the queen not attending church seems a precautionary measure, with no sense of undue concern. buckingham palace is trying to be as precise as they can be. in defining what the ailment is. they continue to describe the ailment as a heavy cold. there are all the qualifications that common sense suggests that for anybody a heavy cold can become more than a heavy cold, but there is no suggestion of that at the moment. there is no sense of undue concern, no sense of alarm. i think this is just a precautionary measure, it is taking longer than perhaps is the case with the duke of edinburgh. he also had this heavy cold, but he was at the church. in the case of the queen, they are just keeping her in the warm.

but she will, according to buckingham palace, by taking part in the family's celebrations later in the day. people at sandringham were taking it very well. some of them have travelled an awfully long way, some of them from overseas. no queen, no prince william, no george, no charlotte. they are all in berkshire, attending church at bucklebury because they are spending christmas day with the middletons. it was rather resort of range of royals without of range of royals without the principal stars. it's good to hear that she's not seriously ill. knowing the queen as we do, though, and her devotion to duty, she would have taken that decision likely. she will know that it will have disappointed people who have come and start queueing at 6am outside the church on the sandringham estate. i think when you are in your 90s, when you are 90, you have

to put health first. and i'm sure that there will be medical attention at sandringham, there will be a doctor or somebody on hand. the advice was presumably it's better to stay indoors today and give the service a miss, even though it's quite mild, the weather. it's presumablyjust thought to be a sensible course to follow. just a quick word on the duke and duchess of cambridge in berkshire today. a bit of a break with tradition, that. and must be with the queen's agreement and approval. i think they want to give george and charlotte as relaxed a christmas as possible. we know that william is quite keen on the atmosphere that he encounters in the middleton household. a nice, relaxed family christmas. however family—orientated it is at sandringham, there is an inevitable formality to it because of the principal host. nicholas which all speaking to me a

little earlier. —— nicholas which all. a russian military plane with more than 90 people on board has crashed into the black sea. russian president vladimir putin has declared a day of mourning tomorrow. 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. this is one of the final images of the tupolev—isii jet. it was taken by a journalist before he boarded the plane. the flight would end in tragedy. the aircraft crashed into the black sea. the russians scrambled helicopters and ships but the search became a recovery operation. there were no survivors. the plane had taken off from a military airfield near moscow. it flew south, stopping in sochi to refuel. the final destination was syria, and russia's airbase near latakia, but minutes after leaving sochi, it crashed. at the russian defence ministry, a spokesman said that more than 90 people were on board the plane.

he said the recovery operation was continuing. on board were more than 60 members of the russian army's famous song and dance ensemble, once known as the red army choir. they had been due to give a concert at the russian airbase in syria. most civilian airlines have stopped using the tupolev—isii, once the workhorse of the russian aviation industry. in 2010, a tupolev—isii carrying the polish president crashed in russia, while trying to land. the following year, a similar plane caught fire in siberia before take—off. now the investigation begins into another disaster, to find out why this russian plane fell from the sky into the sea. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. 0lga ivshina of the bbc‘s russian service told me more about those on

board. the red army band consists of three parts — the choir, the musicians, and also some dancing people. and actually an orchestra and dancers, they stayed in moscow. it is a very famous band. they are famous all over the world. they were giving performances all over the world. they are well recognised. and they became slightly, you know, their image became slightly controversial of the 2014, because it is the russian army band. and they were singing a song about the russian military and its action during the annexation of crimea. after that there were some discussions, some politicians in some countries said that their concerts should be ignored. 0verall they were still quite welcome. there are very popular at this time of year. they go out to servicemen serving overseas to boost morale. yes, it is a traditional

thing in russia, but also in many other countries, congratulating servicemen on active duty on various holidays, and new year is a big thing in russia. they were heading to syria to give a one—hour concert there. everyone in russia is shocked, because they are basically well—recognised. they always get a warm welcome in russia. dreadfully sad for the families. also on board, people from the media who were going to cover it. there were nine journalists from the main russian channels. one of the channels belongs to the ministry of defence. so nine journalists. also a very famous humanitarian activist. she was famous for for her humanitarian efforts in eastern ukraine, she was helping children there, and some hospitals in syria, that is the reason she was travelling. president putin declaring monday as a national day of mourning. there is also a high—level commission looking into the accident. i'm reading here from bbc monitoring

that the transport minister is going to head—up that commission, but president putin will be taking a keen interest. he appointed the prime minister to be in charge. he will report to mr putin. it does look quite worrying if your militarily plane departing from a military base disappeared from the radarjust a few minutes after take—off. there was communication with the tower? there was a routine communication, routine checks, everything went well, the voices sounded calm. there was no sign of some tragedy coming up. 0lga ivshina of the bbc russian service. 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. martin bashir reports.

britain's senior anglican and catholic archbishops entering canterbury cathedral in time—honoured fashion, archbishop justin welby focused his christmas day sermon on the uncertainty and division that has marked both domestic and international politics over the last year. he described 2016 as a year of unpredictability and uncertainty, where fear and division were in danger of overwhelming us and went on to suggest that our anxiety is a clear sign that placing our trust in material prosperity has failed. in rome, where additional security was in place following the berlin attack, pope francis also criticised materialism, and appealed to christians to stand out as people of compassion and self—sacrifice. you would have seen archbishop

justin welby in martin's report. he celebrated christmas at canterbury cathedral in kent. archbishop of canterbury said in his christmas sermon canterbury said in his christmas sermon that globalisation has left many people behind, and that inequality was on the rise in the world today. the end of 2016 find us all ina world today. the end of 2016 find us all in a different kind of world. 0ne less predictable and certain, which feels more wash with fear and division. mark carney, the governor of the bank of england, said three weeks ago at a lecture in liverpool, despite immense progress, many citizens in advanced economies are facing heightened uncertainty. rather than a new golden era, globalisation is associated with low wages, insecure employment, stateless corporations and striking inequalities. the uncertainty of our

world, of our feelings, inequalities. the uncertainty of our world, of ourfeelings, tells inequalities. the uncertainty of our world, of our feelings, tells us that our values or in the wrong place. archbishop justin welby speaking a little earlier. tens of thousands of people have gathered at the vatican to hear the pope deliver his christmas message. pope francis, the head of the catholic church, called for new efforts to bring peace between israelis and palestinians. the pontiff also urged an end to the fighting in syria, and offered his thoughts to the victims of last week's truck attack at a christmas market in berlin which killed 12 people, in a sermon last night that the true meaning of christmas was being drowned out by materialism. he also denounced the continued suffering of children, mentioning children in aleppo and those caught in the migration crisis. let's have a listen. actually, we

don't have that clip. david willey listened to the pope's message. it is not unexpected that he devoted his message to the problem of world peace. he lamented the fact that there is so much conflict going on, wherever you look in the world — the middle east, africa, his native latin america. and even he referred to the conflict still going on between north and south korea, the fact that there has been no end to the state of war, which has existed for decades between those two countries. he says without peace, there is no future for the world. people have the resolve their conflicts. and then he went on to talk in a much more personal way about all of those who have suffered, not only those who have suffered from violence, he mentioned, he mentioned the berlin terrorist attack, but also the children who have

been suffering in syria. the children who have been suffering in other ways as well, brought over from africa across the mediterranean on these overcrowded boats, many of them losing their lives. and the children who are hungry because they are malnourished. the headlines on bbc news: the queen misses the christmas day service at sandringham as she has a heavy cold. the duke of edinburgh and other royals were at church on the norfolk estate. more than 60 members of a celebrated russian military band are among those killed when their plane crashes in the black sea on its way to syria. pope francis urges world leaders to negotiate a peace deal in syria, president putin has declared a day of mourning tomorrow. pope francis urges world leaders to negotiate a peace deal in syria, telling thousands of spectators at the vatican that "too much blood has been spilled".

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 afternoon. 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 kph, during which the gondolas were almost horizontal. it was a scary moment. the resort said on social media that no—one was in danger during the rescue. those safely out are just pleased to be back before christmas. caroline davies, bbc news. a man woman have been arrested after a pedestrian was knocked down and killed while crossing a road in da rtford killed while crossing a road in dartford on christmas eve. the man agedin dartford on christmas eve. the man aged in his 20s from tyne & wear died on the scene. the vehicle was driven away from the crash shortly after six o'clock. a 22—year—old man and a 22—year—old woman, both from da rtfo rd , and a 22—year—old woman, both from da rtford, were arrested and a 22—year—old woman, both from dartford, were arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop at the

scene of a collision, and perverting the course of justice. 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 an important time for family, of course. 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's 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 all 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 everyone, getting to know 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 them. let's get some

weather. it's quite warm out there. 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. the odd bit piece of rain on the breeze coming into the south—west. generally speaking, the further east you are, the dryer, and for some, brighter the afternoon will be. those temperatures are very unseasonal indeed. once the weather front works south, watch out for gusty winds as that feature comes down. we are looking at gusts over the well schulz of 60 mph, as well in the pennines. things do turn colder. so all the welsh hills. on boxing day we have storm connor to deal with, wintry showers for good pa rt deal with, wintry showers for good part of scotland. generally speaking for the rest of the british isles, a

little bit breezy in places but a lot of sunshine around and a much fresher feel to the day. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines at 1.30pm. the queen has missed the christmas day church service at sandringham, as she has a heavy cold. the duke of edinburgh and other royals were at holy communion on the norfolk estate. in berkshire, the duke and duchess of cambridge are spending christmas with kate's family, the middletons.