the king in his christmas message calls for peace in world conflicts, unity after the summer riots, and reflects on his cancer treatment. i offer special, heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who, this year, have supported me and other members of my family. pope francis has used his traditional christmas message to call for peace in ukraine and gaza, calling the humanitarian situation there "extremely grave". many are feared dead in a plane crash in kazakhstan. flames engulfed the front of the aircraft but 32 were pulled alive from the rear of the fuselage. president zelensky condemns russia's mass missile and drone attack against ukraine on christmas day as "inhumane". and our bbc russia editor steve rosenberg joins forces with channel 4's ciaranjenkins to perform a special

christmas collaboration. hello. welcome to bbc news. happy christmas. happy christmas. the king paid tribute to the doctors and nurses for the care they've provided to him and the princess of wales during their cancer treatment this year. in his annual speech, charles also spoke about his "deep sense of pride" at how communities responded to the summer riots following the southport stabbings. he also made a plea for peace in the middle east, central europe and africa. let's hear more now from the king. drums roll.

god save the king plays. earlier this year, as we commemorated the 80th anniversary of d—day, the queen and i had the enormous privilege

of meeting, once again, the remarkable veterans of that very special generation, who gave of themselves so courageously on behalf of us all. listening to these once young servicemen and women touched us deeply, as they spoke of their comrades drawn from across the commonwealth, who never returned and who now rest peacefully where they made the ultimate sacrifice. their example of service and selflessness continues to inspire across the generations. during previous commemorations, we were able to console ourselves with the thought that these tragic events seldom happen in the modern era. but on this christmas day, we cannot help but think of those for whom the devastating effects of conflict, in the middle east,

in central europe, in africa and elsewhere, pose a daily threat to so many people's lives and livelihoods. we also think of the humanitarian organisations working tirelessly to bring vital relief. after all, the gospels speak so vividly of conflict, and teach the values with which we can overcome it. the example thatjesus gave us is timeless and universal. it is to enter the world of those who suffer, to make a difference to their lives, and so bring hope where there is despair. as the famous christmas carol, once in royal david's city, reminds us, our saviour holy came down to earth from heaven, lived among the poor and mean and lowly, and transformed

the lives of those he met through god's redeeming love. that is the heart of the nativity story. and we can hear its beat in the belief of all the great faiths, in the love and mercy of god, in times ofjoy and suffering, calling us to bring light where there is darkness. all of us go through some form of suffering at some stage in our life, be it mental or physical. the degree to which we help one another, and draw support from each other, be we people of faith or of none, is a measure of our civilisation as nations. this is what continually impresses me, as my family and i meet with and listen to those who dedicate

their lives to helping others. i am speaking to you today from the chapel of the former middlesex hospital in london, now itself a vibrant community space, and thinking especially of the many thousands of professionals and volunteers here in the united kingdom, and across the commonwealth, who, with their skills and out of the goodness of their heart, care for others, often at some cost to themselves. from a personal point of view, i offer special heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who this year have supported me, and other members of my family, through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness, and have helped provide the strength, care and comfort we have needed.

i am deeply grateful too to all those who have offered us their own kind words of sympathy and encouragement. on our recent visit to the south pacific to attend the commonwealth summit, i was reminded constantly of the strength which institutions, as well as individuals, can draw from one another, and of how diversity of culture, ethnicity and faith provides strength, not weakness. across the commonwealth, we are held together by a willingness to listen to each other, to learn from one another, and to find just how much we have in common. because through listening, we learn to respect our differences, to defeat prejudice and to open up new possibilities. i felt a deep sense of pride here in the united kingdom

when, in response to anger and lawlessness in several towns this summer, communities came together, not to repeat these behaviours, but to repair. to repair notjust buildings, but relationships, and most importantly, to repair trust by listening, and through understanding, deciding how to act for the good of all. again, listening is a recurrent theme of the nativity story. mary, the mother ofjesus, listened to the angel, who revealed to her a different future full of hope for all people. the message of the angels to the shepherds, that there should be peace on earth, in fact echoes through all faiths and philosophies. it rings true to this day

for people of goodwill across the world. and so, it is with this in mind that i wish you, and all those you love, a mostjoyful and peaceful christmas. # once in royal david's city # stood a lowly cattle shed # where a mother laid her baby # in a mangerfor his bed # mary was that mother mild # jesus christ her little child

# he came down to earth from heaven # who is lord and god of all # and his shelter was a stable # and his cradle was a stall. # with the poor, and mean, and lowly. # lived on earth our saviour holy. # and our eyes at last shall see him. # through his own redeeming love. # for that child

so dear and gentle. # is our lord in heaven above. # and he leads his children on. # to the place where he is gone # not in that poor lowly stable # with the oxen standing by. # we shall see him, but in heaven. # sat at god's right hand on high. # where like stars, his children crowned # all in white shall

waitaround #. the king's christmas message played out by the inner voices acquire at the fitzrovia chapel. our royal correspondent daniela relph explained the significance of the monarch�*s annual christmas message. we have to remember that the monarch was my message of christmas really captures a moment in time and where the particular king or queen feels in this time and how they reflect on the 12 months they have had. in this case it was really hard to imagine that the king wouldn't in some way reference his own health challenges that he has had to put up with this year after his cancer diagnosis and ongoing treatment. it was quite light—touch in terms of how he dealt with it. it wasn't very much about him telling us about what had been going on with

himself, orany what had been going on with himself, or any indication of quite what had been wrong. it was much more him thanking those who helped looked after him, that is how he referred to his message. he talked about the selfless doctors and nurses who looked after him and the rest of his family, most notably the princess of wales. he talked about the uncertainties and anxieties of illness that he himself must have felt this year, and talked about the comfort that those who looked after him had provided. he mentioned his own health challenges within the prison of thanking all those who had been looking after him, which was quite a neat, light—touch way of doing it, i suppose. the other thing to mention is the location. use had already fitzrovia chapel, but that in itself tells us something. it is almost 20 years since a christmas message has come from outside buckingham palace, windsor castle or sandringham. the fact he chose a small hospital chapel from which to deliver the messages today tells us a lot as well.

the messages today tells us a lot as well-— lot as well. our senior royal correspondent _ lot as well. our senior royal correspondent daniela - lot as well. our senior royal i correspondent daniela ralph. earlier, the royalfamily attended the traditional christmas service at church in sandringham. king charles was accompanied by the prince and princess of wales and their children and other senior royals. prince andrew did not attend, after it was confirmed earlier this week that he would not be joining the family at sandringham. pope francis has delivered his traditional christmas day blessing. speaking from the central balcony of st peter's basilica to thousands of people in the square below, he delivered his traditional christmas day "urbi et orbi", an address to the city and the world. in his speech, the pope called for talks between ukraine and russia to end the war that followed moscow's full—scale invasion two years ago, and he also renewed his call for a ceasefire in the israel—gaza war. translation: in the middle east and contemplating the crib - of bethlehem, i think of the christian communities in israel and palestine and particularly to the dear community of gaza, where the humanitarian

situation is extremely grave. may there be a ceasefire. may the hostages be released and aid be given to the people worn out by hunger and by war. the pontiff speaking earlier today. in the middle east, hamas and israel have blamed each other for delays in the latest attempt at a ceasefire deal. hamas accused the israeli government on wednesday of imposing "new conditions" that it said were delaying the agreement while israel 5 prime minister said that the group is going back on understandings that have already been reached. despite rounds of indirect talks, israel and hamas have agreed just once on a truce. it lasted for one week at the end last year. shaimaa khalil is injerusalem. once again, that desperately needed agreement, that peace deal, not looking likely. it is

very interesting _ deal, not looking likely. it 3 very interesting hearing the pope post—match remarks and thinking of the christian community in the middle east, praying for the people of gaza, praying for the people of gaza, praying for the people of gaza, praying for a ceasefire, praying for a ceasefire, praying for a ceasefire, praying for the hostages to come back home and for aid to get to those who need it the most. and at this very moment those prayers are much needed because the situation doesn't feel as close as we thought it might be. hamas has said that israel has added conditions to the ceasefire, to the prisoner exchange, and to the return of the displaced in gaza. these are three very thorny, very complicated issues that the negotiating teams have been working months and months on. they said that with israel's new conditions it resulted in the delay of the deal. then there were accusations on the israeli side. we heard from benjamin netanyahu told us that hamas were liars and they renege on issues they had agreed on and that they continue to essentially hamper the talks. this exchange of

blame tells us that the story from a few days ago is very different. only yesterday the prime minister's office said in a statement that israeli negotiations have come back from qatar where the talks were happening after significant negotiations. a few days ago the palestinian negotiators told the bbc that the talks are 90% complete bar a few issues. these remarks today marked a significant change of tone on both sides, but it also tells us that what was thought to be an imminent agreement is no longer imminent. they say the talks are continuing but it does feel like it is back to the drawing board now to see how these issues can be resolved. how these issues can be resolved-— how these issues can be resolved. , , ., ., resolved. very frustrating on that much-needed _ resolved. very frustrating on | that much-needed ceasefire. that much—needed ceasefire. shaima khaliljoining us from jerusalem. thank you so much. much more cores on our website. let's take a short break now. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

hello, welcome back. officials in kazakhstan say 38 people have been killed after a crash landing of an azerbaijan airlines flight. the plane went down outside the city of aktau as it was was flying from the capital, baku, to grozny in chechnya. jonathan josephs reports. this dramatic amateur footage captures the moments just before the crash. the azerbaijan airlines plane seems to be descending with some speed, and at a steep angle. experts suggest the pilots were struggling for control as they approached aktau. they had been diverted because of bad weather at the original destination of grozny, in southern russia. the kazakh authorities say 150 emergency personnel were sent to the scene. the front half, including the wings and fuel tanks, were engulfed in fire. the force of the impact split the aircraft in two.

the rear, despite coming to rest upside down, is mostly intact. some passengers remarkably walked away from what must have been a horrifying experience. translation: at 11:30. information was received about a plane crash three kilometres from the airport. additional emergency resources were sent, and at 12:05 the fire had been extinguished. there were 67 people, including five crew, onboard. many have not survived what should have been been a routine flight of less than 90 minutes. most were were azeri citizens, with others from russia, kazakhstan and kyrgyzstan. the plane was an 11—year—old embraer e190. the brazilian company has a strong safety record, and says it is preparing to send teams to help with the investigation. it has expressed its sympathies for all those involved, and their loved ones. now the focus will be on trying to recover the flight data recorders, which should give investigators more information as they try to work out what caused this

plane to come down. they will also be keen to speak to the survivors, who are coming to terms with their miraculous escape. jonathan josephs, bbc news. president zelensky has condemned russia's large—scale missile attacks across ukraine on christmas day as inhmane. he said russia had launched over 70 missiles and 100 drones at ukraine's energy system in what he called a "conscious choice" to launch the attacks at christmas. ukraine's air force says it downed 59 of the missiles and more than half of the drones. the mayor of kharkiv, in the northeast of the country, said at least three people were injured and that civilian infrastructure had been damaged. in recent months, russia has been intensifying its attacks on ukraine's energy system, and has accelerated its advance across the east of the country. our bbc russia editor steve rosenberg has played many stunning musical tributes for us over the years and today is no exception.

this year, he's joined forces with channel 4's ciaranjenkins on cello to perform a special christmas collaboration. here's steve to tell us more. i'm not reporting today. i'm playing the piano, as you can see, a special musical christmas collaboration. me in moscow and, back in the uk, ciaranjenkins from channel 4 news on the cello. here is our version of in the bleak midwinter. merry christmas. music: in the bleak midwinter.

how stunning was that? the incredibly talented steeves rosenberg with kieranjenkins rosenberg with kieran jenkins from rosenberg with kieranjenkins from channel 4. bbc news and channel 4 news collaboration. just while we reflect on christmas i am going to take you to hawaii because that is the big island of hawaii where one of the world's most active volcanoes is continuing to spew malton lover. it is not giving up. they are incredible images from hawaii. this eruption is confined to the volcano's national park so we believe no infrastructure is at risk. just incredible images on which to end this christmas day edition of bbc news. hello, christmas

day for most of us was mild for this time of year. but it has been dry everywhere around this big area of high pressure which has brought the dry weather and we have had this weather front bringing rain, mainly to northern scotland. the cold air is never too far away, you can see the extent of this milder air across the country. as we head through this evening and into the night, it stays blustery in the far north of scotland with showers and remaining chili, this is where the front bringing further rain and figure cloud to parts of scotland and northern ireland, but the rest of the country will state largely dry with light winds and a few clear spells which could give rise to low cloud, mist and fog. temperatures between five and 10 degrees. on boxing day this weather front brings further outbreaks of rain for the north of the uk and northern scotland blustery with a few showers, may be some brightness for the

northern isles, but the vast majority of england and wales will be largely dry with light winds. limited brightness and the odd spot of drizzle across western hills, temperatures remaining in double figures for most. on the mild side again, something more chilly for northern scotland. as we move through boxing day night it stays dry for the majority of the country. there has been a lot of cloud around with a bit of rain in scotland and northern ireland. chile in the far north of scotland but temperatures five to 9 degrees for the south. the change as we head into friday with this area of high pressure still dominating the scene. again this weather front across scotland could bring outbreaks of rain, mainly to argyll and the highlands, but the vast majority on friday looks dry, rather grey and gloomy with limited brightness. the temperatures may be coming down a degree or so, we are looking at nine to 11 degrees. as we head into the weekend we start

to get temperatures coming down somewhat, especially across the north of the country and next week there is a chance that the colder air might move across the whole of the country. you can see that hint of colder air beginning to move down from the north as we head into next week. take care.

now on bbc news, secrets of antarctica's giants. delving into the lives of antarctica's giants. there's two animals. whale blows yep. that is pretty amazing to be able to see them under the water. hello, beautiful!

humpback whales come 8,500km here to feed. the antarctic peninsula — a brutal and fragile place — is a hot spot for marine wildlife... perfect fluke! it kind of looks like play. like, just wild. ..but this place is changing. the climate is shifting in the antarctic peninsula faster than anywhere else in antarctica. we're with a team of wildlife scientists who are trying to find out how some of the biggest animals in these waters are responding. some populations around the world are getting skinny because they're not getting enough to eat baby's coming up on the left. mum's poopin'! we'll discover secrets

that are hidden in the bodies of these huge marine mammals... liquid gold!