this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. the headlines at ten. it's the queen has delivered her annual christmas message, highlighting the need for reconciliation in what's being seen as a nod to the divisions caused by brexit. by being willing to put past differences behind us and move forward together, we honour the freedom and democracy once won for us at so great a cost. earlier, the queen led members of the royal family at their traditional christmas day service, including prince george and princess charlotte for the first time, but prince andrew attended a private service. the spanish resort where a british man and his two children were found dead in a swimming pool say there were "no concerns relating to the pool or procedures in place". at the vatican, pope francis says "god loves everyone,

even the worst of us", thought to be a reference to abuse scandals in the catholic church. 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. join us, the brexitcast gang, in half an hour, to look back at the year that was in the world of brexit. good evening. the queen has used her christmas message to say that she has been "struck" by the "sense of purpose" younger generations have shown in tackling issues like climate change. her majesty also acknowleged that 2019 had been a "bumpy" year.

it comes after a year of intense political debate about brexit, as well as a number of personal events affecting the royal family. this morning , members of her familyjoined the queen in attending the christmas day service at sandringham in norfolk. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. morning service at sandringham. notable for who attended and who was absent. making their first appearance, six—year—old prince george and four—year—old princess charlotte. absent from the main service, prince andrew. he decided to attend an earlier private service for the family. after the 11 o'clock service, the queen headed back to sandringham house, where prince philip had remained after his discharge from hospital yesterday. that left the cambridges to lead the royal party greeting the crowds. a little daunting for george and charlotte, who haven't done this sort of thing before. unsurprisingly, they stayed close to their mum and dad as they received flowers and, for charlotte, a hug.

in her christmas message, the queen spoke of her delight at the birth of her eighth grandchild, archie, who is currently in canada with his parents, the duke and duchess of sussex. turning away from family matters, she acknowledged the efforts being made by young people to protect the environment. the challenges many people face today may be different to those ones faced by my generation. but i have been struck by how new generations have brought a similar sense of purpose to issues such as protecting our environment and our climate. the main theme of the broadcast was the need for reconciliation. the queen recalled the 75th anniversary of d—day lastjune. there was a lesson to be learned from it. by being willing to put past differences behind us and move forward together,

we honour the freedom and democracy once won for us at so great a cost. the queen said the need to seek harmony and understanding was at the heart of the teaching ofjesus christ. many of us already try to follow in his footsteps. the path, of course, is not always smooth and may at times this year have felt quite bumpy, but small steps can make a world of difference. and it is those small steps, the queen said, which can bring about the most lasting change. that description of a bumpy year is almost certainly a reference to the divisions caused by the brexit debate. but there's no denying it's been a difficult year too for the royal family. the queen, doubtless, will be hoping for a smoother passage in 2020, both for the country and for her family. nicholas witchell, bbc news, at buckingham palace. a little earlier, nicholas gave us more of his thoughts about her majesty's message.

i think it again underlines the importance to her of her own christian faith. she generally now refers to the teachings ofjesus christ, and she weaves the message of reconciliation around his teachings. i think it also underlines the importance to her of the wartime generation, of whom, of course, she is a part. the fact that in this 75th anniversary year of d—day, she made reference to that and again, used that also, around the theme of former sworn enemies, as she said, coming together, settling their differences, moving on and coming together now, 75 years after the end of the second world war, in peace and amity. the spanish resort where a british man and his two children were found dead in a swimming pool have released a statement saying there were "no concerns relating to the pool or procedures in place". they also claim the incident was a "tragic accident." it's thought a nine—year—old girl got into difficulties in the water at the costa del sol resort,

and her 16—year—old brother and theirfather died after trying to help her. the foreign office says it's helping a british woman. jon donnison 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 three family members. but it's still not clear how they came to die. it's understood a nine—year—old girl first got into difficulty in the water. her 16—year—old brother and father, who was 52, thenjumped in to try to save her. why none of them resurfaced is now the subject of a major investigation. today, club la costa resort, which runs the complex, made a statement, which says... it said this had led them to believe it was a tragic accident.

the foreign office says it is offering assistance to a british woman in spain. jon donnison, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to fernando torres, a reporterfor the spanish newspaper and website diario sur. he was at the resort on the costa del sol yesterday. i started by asking him if we were any closer to understanding the cause of the tragedy. as we know, maybe tomorrow, the mother and wife of the victims will finally talk to the police because she could not do it until now, because she is quite shocked about what happened. maybe tomorrow, her words will help us out to know more about it. what we know, just a couple of hours ago, clc world resorts released a new press release saying that spanish police

the guardia civil have reopened the pool because they did not find anything working wrong. they think it is safe to swim there. so a couple of hours ago, half an hour ago, they released that the police have opened it so they think it was just an accident, nothing involved with the parents, as everybody thinks. it is quite confusing right now. there is no official cause of death. so just to clarify, the police believe that this pool is safe to swim in? yes, it is actually open right now. they opened it, like, a couple of hours ago. how is this story being covered in spain itself? it has been quite a story here. people are really shocked, not only the holiday—makers, but the whole city of malaga, and the town of mijas is close to the capital, people are concerned and shocked about how this happened. christmas meals, christmas dinner,

has been all around this conversation, this unbelievably strange tragedy. it is... the whole country is looking for an answer. we can't find it yet. but as you say, everyone is looking for an answer, trying to understand how this could possibly have happened. for the moment, though, it remains a mystery, doesn't it? it is. we at diario sur have talked with a few pool workers, a few pool enterprises, and they think it is really, really unlikely to happen, but it can happen that suddenly, there is an unexpected movement of the main engines below the pool. it can happen in two ways. the child maybe just got stuck down there, and they tried to help her out or maybe there was this movement

of the water below them and they couldn't swim out. this is really, really weird. it's nothing that has happened ever, here. a man has died after being shot on his doorstep on christmas eve in south west london. neighbours described hearing multiple gunshots followed by a woman screaming for help. the metropolitan police said the man, believed to be in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene in battersea yesterday. scotland yard has launched a murder investigation. a woman has died in a crash on the m1. it 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 called to help. the woman who died has not yet been named. religious leaders have been giving their traditional christmas addresses. in the vatican, pope francis said

"god loves everyone, even the worst of us", thought to be a reference to abuse scandals in the catholic church. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, talked about the darkness of the london bridge attack. john mcmanus reports. midnight mass at manger square, the place where, for christians, it all began just over 2,000 years ago. and this year, a special link to the past — a wooden fragment which the church says is from the manger ofjesus, back in the holy land after 1,300 years. the holy family famously became migrants, fleeing from king herod to the relative safety of egypt. and at the vatican city today, pope francis once again repeated his concern for the plight of those forced to leave their homes. translation: it is an injustice that makes them cross deserts and seas that become cemeteries. it is an injustice that forces them to endure unspeakable forms of abuse,

enslavement and every kind of torture at inhumane detention camps. # 0 come all ye faithful... in his sermon this morning at canterbury cathedral, the archbishop of canterbury — who was recently in the war—torn democratic republic of congo — drew a link between the suffering there and the recent terror attack in london. darkness is a monster that lies. its growling claims seem to call out with a louder volume than the love—filled whispers of light. we see the shadows out of the corner of our eyes. they may be violence, as in the congo or on london bridge. and there is one more christmas message, from british grime artist stormzy, reciting a passage from st luke's gospel. for you was born on this day

in the city of david, the saviour, who was the messiah... the story of the first christmas. john mcmanus, bbc news. well, meanwhile, the dean of westminster abbey says britain is in need of the hope offered by the christmas story. dr david hoyle said he was hoping the nativity could unite people after years of political conflict. our religion editor, martin bashir reports. this is the first christmas season for the new dean of westminster abbey, dr david hoyle. an ancient cathedral where monarchs have been crowned and poets celebrated, it is at the heart of our nation, a nation that he says is bitterly divided. i see the divisions everybody else sees. i feel them. i get angry. and i get disturbed. i live in westminster, where i bump into it all the time. we need some hope in all of this. i think we've become angry and i think we've become despairing.

dr hoyle says that we need an intervention from outside and that the message of christmas offers the possibility of genuine engagement without hostility. peace isn't the moment when the arguments stop. peace is the moment when we can contain our arguments. and that's where we are really struggling at the moment, it seems to me. we can't enjoy our variety. you have to be this or that. i think the gospel suggests this and that, they are both god—given. we can do this together. the story of a child refugee born in perilous circumstances is not the image depicted on most christmas cards. and yet, as the dean of this historic abbey makes clear, redemption and reconciliation are possible, though the task ahead is a challenging one. martin bashir, bbc news. the australian prime minister scott morrison has praised his country's firefighters

in his christmas message. hundreds of firefighters, many of them volunteers, have been battling bush fires in new south wales which began in september. the public too have been showing their gratitude to the fire service, as shiamaa khalil reports from australia. taking a brief christmas break before heading back to the fire front lines. many of these firefighters have been working nonstop for weeks. despite a lull in the weather, with cooling temperatures and predicted rain in some areas, the risk is not over, as teams brace themselves for hot conditions later in the week. the new south wales rural fire service is the world's largest volunteer organisation, with more than 70,000 members. most are local volunteers who have taken on the task to project taken on the task to protect the rural communities. and many have been overwhelmed by how people responded to their work. just overwhelming support, like.

obviously all the presents and stuff for the kids. that's just what they need at the moment. i haven't even gone christmas shopping or anything for my daughter. she's about to turn one in january, on the 11th. just thank you, thank you very much. last week's catastrophic fires have been fuelled by record temperatures of more than 41 degrees, as an extreme heat wave swept across the country, combined with strong winds and dry conditions. australia has been fighting wildfires for months. the early start to the fire season is stretching already scarce water resources. pictures of a thunderstorm in the north—eastern city of brisbane showed some respite in the hot weather. but firefighters say a lot more rain is needed in many more places, with not much forecast over the next few weeks. shiamaa khalil, bbc news, in sydney.

the headlines on bbc news. the queen has delivered her annual christmas message, highlighting the need for reconciliation, in what's being seen as a nod to the divisions caused by brexit. the spanish resort where a british man and this two children were found dead in a swimming pool say there were "no concerns relating to the pool or procedures in place". at the vatican, pope francis says "god loves everyone, "even the worst of us", thought to be a reference to abuse scandals in the catholic church. russian and turkish officials say they have been trying to stop an escalation of fighting in the syrian province of idlib. syrian government forces, backed by russian planes, have been mounting an offensive against militia in the province. one of the latest attacks killed eight people,

including five children, who were taking shelter in a school. gareth barlow reports: this is the moment an air strike hit buildings in idlib province. members of the white helmets volunteer rescue force search through the dust and rubble for victims. charred remains mark where syrian government forces, backed by russia, have launched their campaign to retake the region from rebel fighters. dozens of civilians have been killed and injured in recent days. translation: we run away from rockets, battles and explosive shells. we are asking for god's mercy and the united nations to see what happened to us because of president bashar and the russian army. they are killing us. turkey has warned it's struggling to cope with tens of thousands of refugees trying to cross the border. ankara is working with moscow, syria's key ally, to try to halt the fighting.

the united nations, meanwhile, has called for an immediate end to the violence. the secretary—general said he was deeply concerned about the military escalation in the northwest and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. he reminded all parties of their obligations to protect civilians and ensure freedom of movement. the syrian government, which has captured tens of towns, says it's committed to recapturing the region and will try to protect civilians, but for communities who've already endured eight years of conflict — many of whom have been repeatedly displaced — this latest round of fighting is far too familiar and deadly. gareth barlow, bbc news. india has announced that more than 7000 troops will be withdrawn from indian administered kashmir. it comes more than four months after they were sent following unrest in the region, and is the first major troop reduction by india since it ramped up security there. the decision to cancel

the special status of kashmir, and end the exclusive right of its people to own land, sparked massive unrest and the region was put under a security lockdown. the bbc‘s south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan has been telling us why this is happening now. the government has been under intense pressure from the international community to restore normalcy in indian administered kashmir. as you remember, they sent in more than 40,000 additional troops to maintain law and order after the region erupted after the indian government withdrew the special status given to the region and some special privileges for the citizens there. kashmir itself is a flash point. this region is claimed both by india and pakistan. this has led towards previously and that is why the world this has led to wars previously and that is why the world wants to know how much progress has been made, because the indian government told the international community this was a temporary provision in the indian constitution and they are now revoking it. but then that triggered unrest. to contain the unrest,

they sent in thousands of troops. and last month, the german chancellor angela merkel was in delhi, and she clearly said the situation in kashmir is not sustainable. you can't continue to have restrictions. the us house of representatives are hearing a resolution about these restrictions very soon. so the government wants to show the situation is returning to normalcy and that is why we are gradually reducing the troop numbers. but the residents of kashmir disagree with the government's view. the internet was completely shut down and now has been partially restored. still the internet using mobile phones is not allowed because the government argues that this will allow people to regroup and organise protests and also, militants to communicate with their handlers, that can lead to more attacks. on the other hand, you know, the businesses have suffered quite heavily. more than $2 billion have been lost, that is what the business community is saying. they cannot send any goods or take orders from internet.

because the internet has students cannot apply to any universities because the internet has been shut down. they have to travel to certain designated points where people have to wait for three orfour people have to wait for three or four for three or four hours to have access to the internet. i mean, this is in the modern age, where people have easy access to information and india has been described as the internet shutdown capital of the world. at the same time, the government wants to show the world that the situation is returning to normalcy. but people there are complaining of restrictions and not only about the telephone connection but also, you know, the right to protest of the right to assembly, to convene anywhere. hundreds of leaders are still in detention and they want the political leaders to be released so that there is a political process which can start to normalise the situation in kashmir. a bakery in cheshire is claiming to be the first in the country to make bread out of insects. each of the loaves at roberts bakery contains more than 300 crickets mixed into the flour. in a recent report, the un claimed eating insects can help boost nutrition and reduce pollution. peter marshall reports.

they're still 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, the 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 go? bit dry. 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 future. peter marshall reporting.

that was a pretty unusual story but this is a more seasonal story. santa claus is known for travelling the globe in his sleigh and despite a busy 2a hours, he's made time for testing out some other modes of transport. rebecca bailey can explain. cheering. swapping reindeer power for horsepower, santa claus wows spectators with his water—skiing skills on the potomac river in virginia. i thought it was really cool. it was really cool, it was definitely worth it. santa and food and drinks — you can't get better than that. he's always had an incredible ability to defy the space—time continuum, which could explain how, whilst all this was going on... ..almost 600 santas were riding the waves at cocoa beach in florida. looks like david hasselhoff‘s got nothing on santa. meanwhile, in kosovo, he was seen abseiling down the walls of a children's hospital

with batman, spider—man and superman. cheering. also spotted injapan — five paragliding sa ntas. but luckily, it looks like his love of extreme sport hasn't got in the way of deliveries. cheering. merry christmas! rebecca bailey, bbc news. i think the surfing santa gets my vote. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. good evening. after all the rain we have been having lately, today's weather felt like something of a christmas miracle. it was dry for pretty much all of us, many of us got to see sunshine. that was how it looked on the lincolnshire coast earlier on. but things are changing. behind me, this lump of cloud is boxing day's weather and we will see some rain returning from the west. before that happens, fog still potentially causing problems in the central, eastern and northern parts of england, southern scotland as well. certainly through the evening hours it could be quite dense. but it will lift after midnight

because we will have more cloud rolling in from the west and that brings some outbreaks of rain into northern ireland, west wales, south—west england and the winds picking up here as well. but turning milder by the end of the night, 7 degrees in belfast, for example. further north in scotland, there will still be a touch of frost for some but for many the big weather story on boxing day is this frontal system working its way eastwards, bringing rain at times. but not all the time. this band of rain pushing out of northern ireland quite early in the morning, moving out of wales as well, pushing eastwards across england into southern scotland. a bit of snow might mix in over the very highest hills of scotland and the highest hills of the pennines but even if it does, it will not last long. if behind it, sunshine and showers, some persistent rain getting back into the south—west late in the day where it will be very mild but further north, another rather cool feeling day, 5 degrees in glasgow and in newcastle. a fairly windy day as well, particularly in the south—west corner where we could see gusts of up to a0 mph or more for a time. through boxing day evening, we will see these outbreaks of rain drifting from the south—west

to gradually move north—eastwards in association with this, a warm front which will bring rain with it but it will also bring some warm or at least milder air which will start to waft its way up from the south—west. as we go into friday, there will be a very different feel to the weather and it will feel very mild indeed. some outbreaks of rain still to clear from eastern england, northern and eastern scotland. then we get to see some spells of sunshine, a lot of dry weather developing. this little frontal system bringing some patchy raid into western scotland and perhaps the north—west of northern ireland but look at the temperatures. 10—13 — pretty high for this point in december. as we go into saturday and sunday, it stays very mild, a lot of dry weather around but some patchy rain in the far north and west.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines...

the queen highlights the need for reconciliation in her annual christmas message — in what's being seen as a nod to the divisions caused by brexit. earlier, the queen led members of the royal family at their traditional christmas day service — including prince george and princess charlotte for the first time — but prince andrew attended a private service. the spanish resort where a british man and this two children were found dead in a swimming pool say there were "no concerns relating to the pool or procedures in place" in the vatican, pope francis says "god loves everyone, even the worst of us" — thought to be a reference to abuse scandals in the catholic church. 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.