church, in about 20-30 leave the church, in about 20—30 minutes. this is bbc news. the headlines at 11 o'clock. the queen leads members of the royal family at their traditional christmas day service. three members of a british family have drowned at a holiday resort on the costa del sol. spanish police are investigating. the dean of westminster abbey says britain is in need of the hope offered by the christmas story. hundreds of people in australia have been forced from their homes for the holidays as the country battle some of its worst bushfires in years. and coming up, doris day, clive james, toni morrison and albert finneyjust some of those whose whose lives are

celebrated in review 2019 we remember, in 30 minutes‘ time. good morning and welcome to bbc news. the queen and members of the royal family are attending the annual church service in sandringham. her majesty arrived a few minutes ago surrounded by members of her family, few minutes ago surrounded by members of herfamily, the duke of edinburgh came back to norfolk on christmas eve following a four night stay at king edward vii hospital. he is not attending the christmas day church service and he didn't last year either. prince george and princess charlotte were there for the first time. prince andrew, who stepped back from royal duties last month earlier attended morning service with prince charles. the

brothers walked side by side in peace st mary magdalene church before the service at the head of the real family's traditional late morning service. let'sjust the real family's traditional late morning service. let's just show you those latest pictures of the moment when her majesty the queen in her limousine arrived at that church. she was driven a short distance from the sandringham house to the church, and there, in advance offer arrival, you can see the carjust edging in with other members of the royal family who arrived on foot, and went into the church in advance of her majesty the queen, and here, you see the moment when she emerges from the car, being greeted by the vicar before going into the church. and obviously, the interest here was, a

number of different elements for the spectators and well—wishers who had been keen to see, obviously the queen herself, and there was a degree of interest in the duke of edinburgh, buti degree of interest in the duke of edinburgh, but i don't think many people thought that he would be attending today because he was only out of hospital yesterday and returned to sandringham by car after four days in hospital in central london, but there was a good deal of interest in the arrival of prince george and princess charlotte, who we duly saw with their parents. that is the first time they have attended that ceremony at sandringham. so those scenes as the rows arrive for the 11 o'clock service. staying with royal matters, a new photo taken by the duchess of cambridge of her husband and children has been released today. prince william kissing the youngest child louis

with princess charlotte and prince george. that was taken in norfolk, earlier this year. let's also show you pictures from vatican city and specifically events where the pope is due to be delivering his christmas blessing. he delivered his christmas blessing. he delivered his christmas mass on christmas eve inside st peter's basilica last night. some huge crowds have gathered in st peter's square. i think we can listen in, in a minute with, i hope, with a translation. translation: including our time to come forth from their prisons. he is the word brighter than the sun, made in cornet in the tiny son of man. jesus, the light of the world. this

is why the people cry out, the people who walk in darkness have seena people who walk in darkness have seen a great light. there is darkness in humankind and get the light of christ is greater, still. there is darkness in personal, family and social relationships, but the light of christ is greater. there is darkness in economic, political and ecologically complex yet greater still is the light of christ. may he bring comfort to the beloved syrian people who still see no end to the hostilities in their countries over the last decade. may

he stir the consciences of men and women of goodwill. may he inspire governments and the international community to find solutions to allow the people to live together in peace and security and put an end to their suffering. may he sustain the lebanese people and allow them to ove i’co iti e lebanese people and allow them to overcome the current crisis and rediscover their vocation, to be a message of freedom and harmonious coexistence for all. may the lord jesus bring light to the holy land where he was born as a saviour of mankind. and where so many people, struggling but not discouraged, still await a time of peace, of

security and prosperity. may he bring consolation to iraq amid its present social tension and to yemen, suffering from a grave humanitarian crisis. i think of the children of yemen. may the tiny babe of bethlehem bring hope to the whole american continent with a number of nations are experiencing a time of social and political upheaval. may he encourage the beloved venezuelan people, long tried by their political and social tension and ensure that they receive the aid they need. may he bless the efforts

of those who spared no effort to promote justice and reconciliation and overcome the various crises and many forms of poverty that offends the dignity of each person. . may the dignity of each person. . may the redeemer of the world bring light to ukraine, which we urge for concrete solutions for enduring peace. may the newborn lord bring light to the people of africa where persistent social and political situations often force individuals to migrate, depriving them of a home and family. may he bring peace to those living in the eastern part of the democratic republic of the congo, torn by continuing conflict.

may he bring consolation to all who suffer because of violence, natural disasters or outbreaks of disease and may he bring comfort to those who are persecuted for their religious faith. especially missionaries and members of the faithful who have been kidnapped and to the victims of attacks by extremist groups, particularly in burkina faso, mali, newjersey and nigeria —— niger and burkina faso, mali, newjersey and nigeria —— nigerand nigeria. may the son of god come down to earth from heaven, protect and sustain those who are forced to emigrate in the hope of a secure life. . it is

justice that forces them to cross deserts and seas that become cemeteries. it is injustice that forces them to endure abuse and torture and detention camps. it is injustice that turned them away from places where they might have hoped for a dignified life but instead find themselves facing indifference. may emmanuelle bring light to all suffering members of our human family, may he soften our often stony hearts and make them channels of his love. may he bring a smile to the faces of all the children of the world, to those who had abandoned and those who suffer violence —— who are abandoned. may his hands closed those who have nothing to wear ——

clothes. give bread to the hungry and heal the sick. through our friendship, such as it has, may he draw close to the elderly and the lonely, to migrants and the marginalised. 0n lonely, to migrants and the marginalised. on this joyful christmas day, may he bring his tenderness to all and brighten the darkness of this world. the crowd now reacting to the pope's message. praying in latin

praying continues studio: part of the address by the pope at st peter's this morning, expected to touch more political themes with the suggestion of those who were anticipating that address and that is indeed what he has done following his mass at st peter's basilica last night, the christmas eve mass, so those scenes in st

peter's square. we'll keep an eye on for you in the next half an hour or so, you'll see enormous crowds. we we re so, you'll see enormous crowds. we were showing you the arrival of members of the royal family for their traditional service at sandringham. nicholas witchell is alongside me. it's about who was there and who wasn't. yes, prince philip is returning from hospital yesterday, the significant absentee is prince andrew although he went to a service with his elder brother earlier but not attending the main service with the queen, with the core principle members of the royal family, and thatis members of the royal family, and that is a recognition that he has become a sort of negative distraction. if he had attended, a lot of the coverage would have been

around him. he has become, one would have to say, something of an embarrassment currently to the royal family soi embarrassment currently to the royal family so i will his daughter, was there with her fiance, family so i will his daughter, was there with herfiance, eugenie, there with herfiance, eugenie, there was no prince andrew. harry and meghan are in canada, it has been well signposted they would not been well signposted they would not be at sandringham this christmas. they are on a six—week break and will be returning to this country sometime in the new year. the significant attendees for the first time, of course, to small people, prince george and princess charlotte. prince george's mum and dad will be anxious they are on their best behaviour as this is important but for a six—year—old and four—year—old, although she tends to be better behaved than he is, but that's the way of the world. the family group there, no prince louis, he much too young, in the church

110w. he much too young, in the church now. the well-wishers have stood outside for many hours. it's the children i suspect they are therefore. you might guess, and the queen, of course. she arrived with camilla in the bentley from the main house and hundreds and hundreds of people start queueing. it's become a tradition for many of them to attend sandringham on christmas day. they start queueing in the early hours of the morning. somebody had been there from one o'clock in the morning, i had heard, after taking trains and planes and goodness knows what. it's a lovely, sparkling, dry, sunny december christmas day so they have a very good day for it and they will getan a very good day for it and they will get an excellent view and, as many have said, this is not a unique opportunity but it's a special opportunity but it's a special opportunity to get close to them and, if they are lucky, handover flowers a nd and, if they are lucky, handover flowers and that sort of thing.

the family have a christmas lunch and then watch one member of the party on television! it's kind of obligatory to be in position for three o'clock. in past years, the queen has gone into a separate room to watch it. in the early years of her reign, she wasn't comfortable with broadcasting but now they settle down to have christmas lunch at sandringham, which will be being prepared as we speak, several turkeys no doubt, and they had a big supper last night as well and exchanged presents. the christmas broadcast on the riddle of what does she mean by this bumpy illusion. i don't suppose we'll know a great deal more afterwards, it will be for everybody to make up their own minds about the context of her talking about the context of her talking about a bumper year is very much on

the theme of reconciliation so i think it's more about politics than anything else. nick, thank you very much. the foreign office says it's helping a british woman, after three members of the same family drowned in the swimming pool of a holiday resort in spain. it's thought a nine—year—old girl got into difficulties in the water, and her 16—year—old brother and theirfather died after trying to help her. the hotel has issued a statement offering their condolences to the family, and say they are assisting the authorities fully with their investigation. nick quraishi reports. the christmas holiday that turned to tragedy in one of spain's top tourist destinations. police divers visible next to the pool which claimed the lives of the three family members. it is understood that a nine—year—old girl first got into difficulty in the water, her 16—year—old brother and father, who was 52, then jumped in to try to save her. why none resurfaced from one of the many pools here is now the subject of a major investigation. hotel firm clc world resorts,

which runs the complex, released a statement. it said: the firm says it's helping the authorities fully with their investigations into the deaths, while the foreign office has confirmed it's offering assistance to a british woman following what happened. nick quraishi, bbc news. a woman has died in a serious crash on the m1 motorway which happened last night on the northbound side nearjunction 12. it was one of two accidents on the motorway overnight with police from both hertfordshire and bedfordshire forces involved. the northbound carriage remains

closed but the southbound carriageway has reopened. hundreds of people in australia have been forced from their homes for the holidays, as the country battles some of its worst bushfires in years. figures released by firefighters in new south wales reveal nearly a thousand houses have been destroyed. thousands of australians have moved from their dayjobs to help the firefighting efforts and a change in the weather conditions have aided attempts to control the bushfires. thankfully we're seeing a bit of respite here across the state. in the last 2a hours we've seen between 30 and 50 mills of rain falling in northern new south wales. hopefully that will put an end to fires across northern parts of new south wales, but certainly around the sydney area, central and southern parts of new south wales, we have a long way to go with next to no moisture falling across those areas. so, some rain, but how much,

and is more forecast? here's our correspondent, shaimaa khalil. there isn't much forecast, and they need a lot of it to get the help that they need on the ground as far as firefighting is concerned. we did get a little bit of rain in sydney. there is a little bit of it predicted for some areas in new south wales, but many firefighters that i have spoken to have said that really mother nature needs to help us out here with a lot more rain, which isn't forecast. what is actually forecast are soaring temperatures within the next few days, definitely going through the weekend. that is what they are worried about. firefighters are using this lull in the weather with cooling temperatures, to contain smaller flames as they flare up, try for them not to travel, and doing the backfiring, which is a scorching areas around houses and around areas that they are concerned about, for it to be burned out, for the fire is not to travel. but really what they are saying is, as they continue to grow more tired, because they have been nonstop, it is a concern about the rising temperatures

within the next weekend. hundreds of pro—democracy protesters have held a rally in a hong kong shopping centre in the sha tin area. the city has seen anti—government clashes over the past six months due to a controversial extradition bill. protestors were seen putting up posters on walls which read, "we have not won the revolution, we need to keep going." the mayor of the chilean city of valparaiso has warned of a dire situation as a forest fire continues to encroach there. the authorities say they're investigating suspicions that the fire was lit deliberately. the fire in a poor neighborhood of valparaiso dominates the skyline of chile's major port city. residents' christmas eve

celebrations were shattered, with their homes damaged or destroyed as firefighters struggled to contain the spread of the fire. the entire fire service of valparaiso, a city of more than a quarter of a million people, has been mobilized to tackle the blaze. crews from neighbouring areas — and even the military — have also been drafted in to help. translation: at least 60 homes have already been damaged. this number is likely to increase because many are in bad shape, so it's difficult to know at the moment. the residents of two districts regarded as high—risk have been ordered to leave their homes. warm, dry conditions, along with strong winds, have aligned to whip up the flames. translation: all the houses are burning and now the fire is coming here and there's my mum's house down here and the fire is up here. firefighters say the fire started in a forested area and spread into an inhabited area. it's a city known for colourful wood

houses, a construction that would have been a particular risk to these homes. the mayor says he believes the fires were started intentionally and this is now being investigated. david waddell, bbc news. people in one indian city woke—up on christmas eve to an unusual sight. this is it — a plane stuck under a bridge in the middle of a busy road. the aircraft was on board a truck, which ran into trouble as it attempted to drive under this bridge on national highway 2 in durgapur in west bengal. the plane was eventually pulled out from under the bridge with ropes. bethlehem has experienced its best christmas period for tourist numbers in two decades after thousands of people gathered to mark christmas day. the town is honoured by christians and pilgrims as the birthplace ofjesus christ. the festivities centred on the church of the nativity. a bakery in the uk claims to be

the first in the country to make bread out of insects. each of the loaves at roberts bakery in cheshire contains more than 300 crickets mixed into the flour. eating insects can help boost nutrition and reduce pollution, according to a un report. peter marshall reports. they're still is making the usual bread at roberts bakery. but there is a new batch in production where the key ingredient is this. crickets. the bakery claims to be the first in the uk to make insect bread, a crunchy cricket loaf. we really want consumers to think about their food and where it comes from. and also about the impact that food is having on the environment and the world. this is our little way of saying to consumers, take the challenge. try one of our loaves and see if you like cricket bread. it's not as unusual as you might think. the un estimates last year around the globe at least 2 billion people ate insects.

they're a good source of protein. producing them is less environmentally damaging than producing meat. when we grow crickets, we need a small land area but more importantly crickets emit very little greenhouse gas. we know there has been a lot of discussion lately about animals and the impact they have on their greenhouse gas emissions. so that is the big sustainable credibility around crickets. i don't know who did the counting, but they reckon there are 336 crickets in each loaf. although it is called crunchy cricket bread, it shouldn't be crunchy cos they're ground down and mixed with wheat flour. however, can we convince the good people of northwich to give it a it's all right, though. it tastes disappointingly normal. itjust tastes like nice brown bread. give it a go. they reckon there are 336 crickets in each loaf. that's nice. it tastes nutty.

you're disgusting! you can't taste the crickets. if i can, they taste good. the first batch is only 100 loaves. they'll await public reaction before deciding if crunchy cricket bread has a serious feature. peter marshall reporting. what do you think father christmas does to relax before he goes to deliver his presents? read a book, take a long bath? well, how about surfing? thousands of people turned out at cocoa beach in florida on christmas eve to watch nearly 600 surfing santas hit the waves. the event has been taking place for ten years and has raised thousands of dollars for charity. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. hello. no white christmas today, but for many of you, something better. it's dry and sunny and it will stay that way through the rest of today. one or two isolated showers

in the north of scotland, there could be an isolated shower in the west, but for most, sunshine from dawn to dusk and temperatures around 5—9 celsius. the levels they should be at this time of year. if you've got any christmas day travel plans for this evening, just a word of caution. across parts of central and northern england and into central southern scotland, the risk of dense fog patches. first half of the night in particular. they will clear later as the breeze picks up, the cloud rolls in and by the end of the night, rain across northern ireland, wales and southwest where it will be a milder end to the night and start to boxing day. still a touch of frost around parts of scotland and eastern england, maybe. we start the day dry and bright. wet for northern ireland, wales and the southwest before sunshine and showers for the rest of the day. the rain spreads its way and pushes into northern and eastern england, central southern scotland. brief spell of snow over the hills, but, all in all, it's set to turn milder. merry christmas.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines... the queen leads members of the royal family at their traditional christmas day service. three members of a british family have drowned at a holiday resort on the costa del sol — spanish police are investigating. the dean of westminster abbey says britain is in need of the hope offered by the christmas story. hundreds of people in australia have been forced from their homes for the holidays, as the country battles some of its worst bushfires in years. doris day, clive james, toni morrison and albert finney — just a few of those whose lives are now celebrated now in review 2019: we remember. # loneliness is the cloak you wear.

# a deep shade of blue is always there. # the sun ain't gonna shine any more. # the moon ain't gonna rise in the sky...#. i hate people in the business who bitch about, you know, the business. it's such an awful life. it was fantastic for the first couple of albums or so. # and i know you're leaving, but it's too long overdue...# but then it really wears you down. touring in those days was very primitive. it was really a lot of hard work. and you couldn't find anything good to eat anywhere. # there's no regrets.