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 uses his traditional christmas message to call for peace in ukraine and gaza — and describes the humanitarian situations there "extremely grave". officials in kazakhstan say 38 passengers died in the crash landing of an azerbaijan airlines flight. president zelensky condemns russia's mass missile and drone attack against ukraine on christmas day as inhumane. and these are live pictures from hawaii — as one of the world's most active volcanoes erupts again.

hello. i'm sarah campbell. merry christmas to you. king charles has given his annual christmas day speech, where he 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. he called for unity after the summer riots in the uk and made a plea for peace in the middle east, central europe and africa. this year's christmas broadcast was delivered in the fitzrovia chapel in london, the first time a venue outside a royal residence had been used for over a decade. let's first hear what he said about his treatment. 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 the anxieties of illness and have helped provide the strength, care, and comfort we have needed. i am deeply grateful to all of those

who have offered us their own kind words of sympathy and encouragement. as conflicts rage throughout europe, africa and the middle east, the king acknowledged the work of humanitarian organisations helping those most in need around the world. 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. and here in the uk, the king praised the efforts of those who had sought to build bridges between communities after the summer riots, following the southport stabbings that killed three girls. 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. well, earlier the royal family attended the traditional christmas service 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. royal commentator kelly swaby talked me through the speech. as you say, you know, i think we all expected him to address his cancer diagnosis, but he spent a lot less time talking about himself than i think many of us expected.

i think a lot of us expected the entire speech, or at least a large part of the speech, to be about his diagnosis. and it wasn't. it was about community spirit. it was also about public service. obviously, you know, our incredible health professionals, you know, got a shout out this year as they have in many of the previous christmas broadcasts. but it was one of community spirit of coming together. ithink, you know, that very much ties in with the christmas spirit as a whole. so it was as to be expected. but there were also some surprises in there. yeah, and some really sort of direct comments, weren't there? you sometimes have to read between the lines to sort of get the messages from royal christmas messages. but this was very clear. you know, it was about community. it was about the southport riots. it was talking about sort of conflicts going on around the world, you know, potentially quite difficult issues. absolutely. with the late queen's, you know, christmas messages, you did have to read between the lines, whereas king charles is a lot more direct. we've always known him to be, you know, quite to the point. he's always got involved in, in things, sometimes things

that he shouldn't have done. but he's always been outspoken. and this christmas message very much ties in with him, you know, as a person. so, he did mention, you know, the conflict in the middle east. obviously, that's a direct reference to gaza and conflict in general. you know, it tied in with him going to the d—day commemorations earlier this year in normandy. so, that was a very much a direct reference to, you know, something that is relatively controversial, that can divide people's opinions, as well as the southport riots. again, you know, it would have been a not a very wise choice for him not to have mentioned it. it was, you know, one of the most important things that's happened this year. and, you know, he was very much involved in the aftermath of the 2011 riots in tottenham. he went to community centres and that sort of thing. so he's experienced this before, and he's also seen the value of the community spirit, you know, after something like that has happened. so, it was very direct. but i think it's very charles. and what about the location? interesting, the first time that it's been filmed outside one of the main

royal residences since 2006, so it was the chapel of the former middlesex hospital. i absolutely love the location choice. i really like the fact that, you know, the three christmas broadcasts that he has done have all been in different locations. so, the first was at saint george's chapel at windsor, which is where the late queen was buried. last year's was at buckingham palace and this year's was at a chapel in hospital, obviously, again, a direct reference to his and the princess of wales�*s health issues that they've been through this year. but i really like the idea of taking the christmas message out of a royal residence. it adds a lot more meaning to the words that are being said, and i like the idea of, i guess, you know, a road show of christmas broadcasts, of going to different locations throughout the uk have really making it a lot more intimate than it has been in previous years where it's just been at buckingham palace. so, in terms of the location, i absolutely love it. and i the symbolism, as well, because that chapel also has links to george v. so, his great grandfather, so it has a lot of royal links and i think it was

a very wise choice. 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 over two years ago, and he also renewed his call for a ceasefire in the israel—gaza war and the release of the remaining israeli hostages held by hamas. 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.

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's 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 of last year. shaimaa khalil has more now from jerusalem. you know, it's really interesting because you hear the pope's message and you hear his prayers and his thoughts of the christian communities in israel, in palestine, and then especially in gaza, praying for a ceasefire, praying that the hostages go back home. and you think, these prayers are so needed because in reality,

the families of those waiting for their loved ones are going to have to wait longer now because the ceasefire negotiations have yet again been delayed. we've been hearing from both hamas and israel about essentially accusations and counter—accusations. hamas said that israel has set more conditions when it comes to the ceasefire, when it comes to the exchange of prisoners, when it comes to the return of the displaced in gaza, these three issues are very thorny. they're very complicated. they're very technical in the way that they would be conducted and negotiators on both sides would have worked weeks and weeks and months on them. and what hamas is saying now is that this has delayed the negotiations further. the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has said that the hamas negotiators reneged on things that they agreed on before,

that they were lying and that they were hampering the talks. and spare a thought for the people in gaza who are desperate for the cease fire, for this violence and relentless shelling in areas in gaza to stop, but also for aid, badly needed aid, to come in. yet again, the un and other aid agencies have said that gaza's specific areas as well, are on the fringe of famine. but also spare a thought for the families here in israel, waiting for a word on when their loved ones might come back home. that, we were told, a few days ago in a notable change of tone from the israeli government, from the prime minister's office, that israeli negotiators have come back from qatar after significant negotiations, palestinian negotiators telling the bbc it's 90%, bar a few issues, that has now changed and they say the talks are continuing, but it does feel like it's back to the drawing board. one more issue i want to add,

actually, one more development is that one of the real crucial and sticking points is israeli forces�* presence in the philadelphia corridor. this is a crucial strip of land that is a buffer zone, border buffer zone, if you will, between gaza and egypt. today, the israeli defence minister, israel katz, was there and he had a message saying that the security in gaza is going to be up to the idf, up to the israeli forces. there will be no hamas presence there. and so when you hear that, you know that the negotiations are still far off. and just tell us about the impact on the region. and you've been travelling around. you've been to bethlehem, a town whose name is so synonymous with christmas. but again this year, very little sign of any celebration. it's interesting because i was in bethlehem last year when christmas was cancelled for the first time, out of respect and out of deep sorrow, of course, because of the war in gaza. and you go back this year and i was speaking to people that i spoke to last year and they say, you know, this year feels worse

because the hope is fading. when is this going to end? and you feel that the people in bethlehem are torn. on one hand, they feel that their city is a shadow of itself. no celebrations, no famous christmas tree, no tourists, no pilgrims, and a lot of local businesses are struggling to make ends meet. and yet they feel that they cannot celebrate. one local woman said, "how can we celebrate when our brothers and sisters "are being killed in gaza?" you walk around and you feel that people are trying to keep up the christmas spirit. this is where the whole world looks to, bethlehem, in christmas. the religious ceremonies happened, of course, but they were quite muted and it does feel like it's a shadow of itself. 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. around the world and across the uk. this is 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. from kyiv, our correspondent will vernon has the latest developments. ukrainians woke on this christmas morning to the sounds of sirens and explosions as russia launched a huge barrage of cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones, too, at ukrainian cities.

and they were targeting the energy infrastructure. ukrainian energy providers say that their repair crews were out fixing the damage but hourly power outages should be expected across the country. half a million people in the kharkiv region in the east were left without power. now, a little bit earlier president zelensky released a statement, he vowed to restore the grid and thanked those who protect ukraine's skies. he said that russian evil would not break ukraine and would not spoil christmas. look, this attacks... these kinds of attacks, happen every day. ukrainian cities are attacked by drones and missiles all the time but this was a particularly large scale attack and, of course, it came on christmas morning. the archbishop of york, stephen cottrell, has focused on the importance of actions over words in his christmas sermon. he will shortly take interim charge of the church of england, which is facing criticism over its handling

of abuse scandals. our religion editor, aleem maqbool reports give hope peace and joy as part of his plan. christmas is when the church is at its most prominent in british life, and its most joyous. churches up and down the country are filled with the story of hope defying darkness, but this year there is a troubled backdrop, and local clergy are hearing the frustration. it is just a magical time for the community. but this month has been really hard to be in the church of england, because of all that is going on. it is an institution that is probably in crisis, really. last month, justin welby resigned as head of the church after a report pointed out his failings in dealing with a prolific child abuser. with no christmas sermon from the archbishop of canterbury, all eyes were on york minster and the archbishop of york, stephen cottrell, but he, too, is now under scrutiny for the handling

of a child abuser in his charge, though he says he did everything he could. in his sermon he said that people needed to do more than just talk and needed to act. to put the needs of others first. those that are cold and hungry this christmas. those who are victims of abuse and exploitation. ijust feel that he's not the right person to give that message at this time. she doesn't want to be identified but one of the abuse victims of the priest that worked for nine years under steven cottrell despite his knowledge of the serious concerns about him says it is now hard to listen to the archbishop preach. ijust feel that he hasn't really thought about how victims would feel in this context, and how he is happy to be

the voice of the church moving into christmas, when all i see when i see him, is a man that has let me and many victims down. some bishops chose to directly address the church crisis in their messages but not the archbishop of york. after his service he greeted members of his congregation. given that the criticism of church leaders, there will be some who heard the archbishop preach in his words about the inadequacies of those who talk a good game but whose words aren't embodied in actions and will do so with some sense of irony this christmas. in the uk, a 39—year—old man has died after being shot by police in worcestershire. officers were called to an address in redditch after concerns were raised about the safety of a man with a knife. west mercia police said a negotiator spent "several hours" dealing with the incident.

the force has referred itself to the independent office for police conduct. here, a 31—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after pedestrians were hit by a car in london's west end in the early hours of christmas day. four pedestrians were taken to hospital — one of them is still in a life—threatening condition. police say they believe the suspect was "involved in an altercation at a nightclub prior to getting in his car and mounting the pavement". they say it is not terror—related. desi bouterse, a military strongman who twice ruled the south american nation of suriname, has died aged 79. bouterse led a 1980 coup in the former dutch colony. after being overthrown he returned to power, by election, three decades later — despite charges of drug smuggling and murder. supporters applauded him for his charisma and populist social programmes.

opponents accused him of being a ruthless dictator who was guilty of drug trafficking and extra—judicial killings. 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, kieranjenkins from channel 4 news on the cello. here is our version of in the bleak midwinter. merry christmas. music: in the bleak midwinter.

the immensely talented steve rosenberg fare and kieran jenkins on cello.— rosenberg fare and kieran jenkins on cello. lets take it to hawaii — jenkins on cello. lets take it to hawaii and _ jenkins on cello. lets take it to hawaii and show - jenkins on cello. lets take it to hawaii and show you - jenkins on cello. lets take it| to hawaii and show you those latest pictures. the most active volcano on hawaii's big island. it started to erupt on monday and is very much erupting at the moment. laver, apparently, rising 260 feet above the island. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. christmas day for most of us was a quiet one weather—wise.

a lot of cloud around. limited brightness and on the mild side for the time of year. but it hasn't been dry everywhere. around this big area of high pressure which has brought the dry weather, we've had this weather front bringing outbreaks of rain, mainly to northern scotland. and cold air never too far away here, but you can see on the airmass chart the extent of this milder air across the country. now, as we head through this evening and tonight, it stays blustery across the far north of scotland, with showers here and remaining chilly, this weather front bringing further rain, thicker clouds in parts of scotland and northern ireland. but the rest of the country will stay largely dry with light winds, a lot of cloud around, a few clear spells, which could give rise to a bit of low cloud, mist and fog. temperatures no lower than 5 to 10 degrees. so into boxing day, we hold on to this weather front, bringing further outbreaks of rain to the north of the uk. most of the rain — western scotland, perhaps just to the north of northern ireland. blustery, with a few showers, maybe some brightness for the northern isles. but the vast majority of england and wales will be largely dry. light winds. again, a lot of grey weather around, much like today

with limited brightness, could see the odd spot of drizzle across western hills. temperatures remaining in double figures for most, on the mild side. again, something chillier for northern scotland. so as you move through boxing day night, it stays dry for the majority of the country. again, a lot of cloud around blankets in the temperatures. a little bit of rain across scotland and northern ireland. chilly in the far north of scotland, but temperatures 5 to 9 degrees further south. there's little change as we head into friday. this area of high pressure still dominating the scene, so mostly dry with light winds. again, this weather front across scotland could bring thicker cloud with outbreaks of rain, mainly to argyll and the highlands. that's a little bit of rain across northern parts of northern ireland, but for the vast majority friday looks dry, rather grey, gloomy once again with limited brightness. those temperatures maybe coming down a degree or so. we're looking at nine to 11 or 12 degrees. so as we head into the weekend, we start to see the temperatures coming down somewhat, especially across the north of the country. as we head into next week,

there's a chance colder air might move south right across the country and turn colder, with an increasing chance of wintry showers on the hills in the north and the west. and you can see that hint of colder air beginning to move down from the north as we head into next week. and generally it starts to turn more unsettled too. take care.

this is bbc news. merry christmas. the headlines... the king, in his christmas speech, calls for peace in world conflicts, unity after the summer riots, and reflects on his cancer treatment. pope francis has used his traditional christmas message to call for peace in ukraine and gaza, calling the humanitarian situation there "extremely grave". officials in kazakhstan say 38 passengers were killed in the crash landing of an azerbaijan airlines flight.

president zelensky condemns russia's mass missile and drone attack against ukraine on christmas day as inhumane. now on bbc news, i take a look back at what has been a quite extrordinary royal year. a year like no other. first the king, then the princess of wales diagnosed with cancer. this, of course, came as a huge shock, and william and i have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family. good man, this one. prince william called it the hardest year of his life, supporting his wife and family while flying the flag for britain abroad, honouring the fallen on the beaches

of normandy 80 years on from d—day.