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. and protests have erupted in several cities across syria after a video showed an attack on a shrine belonging to the formerly powerful alawite minority. hello, i'm sarah campbell. 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. our senior royal correspondent daniela relph reports. the king and queen led the royalfamily from church on the sandringham estate. a moment to reflect on the challenges of the past 12 months. the prince and princess of wales were with them, alongside their three children. for the crowds, who stood for many hours waiting for a glimpse of the royals, there was a chance to chat and hand over gifts. thank you very much. thank you so much, yeah. it's very kind of you to come all this way. god save the king plays in his christmas message, delivered from a former hospital chapel in central london rather than a royal residence, the king spoke of the suffering we all experience at some stage of our life and touched on his own experience

of cancer treatment. 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. recalling his visit to australia and samoa, he talked of diversity as a strength, not a weakness, and emphasised the power of community, especially after the summer riots in the uk. 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. the king's christmas message from this small, intimate chapel is more personal and more direct this year, reflecting the challenging 12 months he has been through. the king's cancer treatment will continue into 2025. but palace sources say this christmas, he is feeling positive about the year ahead. daniela relph, bbc news. 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. the ceasefire agreement between hamas and israel looked like it was gaining momentum a few days ago. it is a very different picture now. both sides are exchanging accusations. hamas says that israel has set new conditions when it comes to the ceasefire, when it comes to the prisoner exchange, when it comes to the return of those displaced in gaza. these are very difficult and thorny but also technical issues that negotiators would have been working on for months and months. but hamas now says that because of that, the deal is delayed. we have also heard from the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, who accused hamas of lying, of hampering negotiations, of reneging on issues that they've agreed upon. this is very different to what we have heard a few days ago. only yesterday, we heard from the prime minister's office saying that their negotiators have come back from qatar after significant negotiations.

the hamas side has told the bbc a few days ago that the talks were 90% complete, bar a few issues. one sticking point is the israeli presence in the philadelphi corridor. this is a crucial strip of land between the gaza boundary area and egypt. the israeli presence there is a thorny issue. today the israeli defence minister, israel katz, said that the security in gaza is going to be up to the israeli forces, there will be no hamas administration or presence. the pope had prayed for the people of israel and palestine, for the people of gaza to get the aid that they need and for the end of the war there, for the families, for the hostages to come back to their families, and those prayers feel so poignant at a time when those families, when the people of gaza, feel that this deal that they need so much is not happening as soon as they hope.

that was shaimaa khalil reporting from jerusalem. angry demonstrations have spread across several cities in syria after a video showed an attack on an alawite shrine in aleppo. the new administration of ahmed al—sharaa said the footage dated back to the time when the second city fell to his islamist rebels earlier this month, blaming the attack on unknown groups. our middle east correspondent lina sinjab, who's in damascus, sent this update on the protests. this is the first time we see unrest in alawite cities and towns since the toppling of the assad regime. first in the city of tartus, in the town of tartus, there were clashes between hts and former operatives of the assad regime, according to hts. we learned that, also, they've been ambushed by former regime operatives as they were trying to raid one apartment to arrest former regime operatives. but then there were protests in many cities and towns, especially in homs, in response to a video released of vandalising an alawite

shrine in the city of aleppo. that incident happened nearly ten days ago, but it was released again and although there have been reconciliation with the leaders of the alawite religious leaders, however it was released today provoking tension and protest in many cities and towns, even here in damascus, in the mezzeh 86 district, which is predominantly alawite supporters of assad's power. there were reports of some shooting in homs. we can't confirm who are the ones who opened fire at protesters. we've seen videos of hts fighters trying to calm down the situation and just now there was a statement coming out from hts confirming that those who opened fire are also regime operatives. there are many questions about the situation here. many people are calling for calm, for avoiding revenge, forjustice and prosecution for those who have blood on their hands.

but the alawite communities are fearful, especially because many of them took part in torturing and killing during the days of the uprising, and many syrians here blame them for the bloodshed. it will be a big challenge for this new leadership to maintain stability and providejustice for everyone while these kind of incidents will happen and possibly may happen again. lina sinjab reporting there from damascus. 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 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 of them 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's 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. 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. while for many, christmas is a time for gathering together and celebrating, it can also be a time for helping those most in need. nicky ford reports from a project that helps the homeless in london.

welcome to the crisis hotel at christmas, where things are done a little differently. the staff are volunteers, and the guests are rough sleepers. it will help 600 people, with a volunteer team working day and night. the first guests to check in headed straight to bed for the chance of a peaceful night's sleep somewhere quiet, clean and comfortable. and after a good night's sleep, people have come down to enjoy what we all look forward to in a hotel — a good hot cooked breakfast. this year, it will be served by some celebrity volunteers. the guests have already had a night to sleep, and now they're coming down for breakfast and that's what me and joe are going to be starting with — making them teas, giving them some breakfast. it'sjust, it's a real... you know, they properly put a lot of work into this, and just really proud to be part of it. one lovely guy, i think he recognised my voice from the pe with joe workouts. he said, "are you... are you joe wicks? " i said, "yeah, it's me, nice to meet you."

and he said he'sjust checked in, he's going to be here for two weeks — he's going from on the streets to being in a nice, warm, safe hotel for two weeks. he's got a job lined up with tfl and, you know, just seeing the optimism in his eyes — that he's genuinely really excited about that. as well as three meals a day, people will have access to a medical team, computers to help them reconnect with lost family and friends, and the chance to have a little fun with a board game or two. i was lucky, you know, we were on benefits and i had parents with addiction, but we had a home. i never... i never had to live on the streets. we had a nice, cosy bed and we had, like, you know, somewhere to be. so to think that the number of homeless people is increasing and the actual places for them to live and accommodate is decreasing — that's an issue that we need to talk about, like... christmas is an important time to help the homeless, but this is also a reminder that this is all year round that we need this help for. it's open for two weeks — time, it's hoped, to give the guests the best start to 2025 as possible. nicky ford, bbc news.

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

that was rather lovely, wasn't it? the hugely talented steve rosenberg and ciaranjenkins playing cello there. if you're spending christmas day somewhere unexpected this year, spare a thought for american astronauts butch wilmore and sunita williams. injune, they set off from earth for what was meant to be an eight—day mission, but six months later, they're still in space. camilla mills has the story. barry "butch" wilmore and sunita williams became the first astronauts to travel to space on private company boeing starliner capsule. it blasted off injune but, due to technical issues, their eight—day stay on the international space station has now turned into more than eight months. celebrating christmas on the international space station isn't uncommon — astronauts have been doing it for more than 50 years. it's considered a holiday for all concerned, regardless of faith or ethnicity. for the team on board this year, it's still

about spending time together and enjoying the day. it's a great time of year up here. we get to spend it with all of ourfamily up on the international space station — there are seven of us up here, and so we're going to get to enjoy company together. and one of the best things that i like about christmas is the preparation and just getting ready, and the anticipation — everybody getting together and preparing stuff and just getting ready for the holiday. the astronauts have now received fresh ingredients and gifts from home — sent via the spacex dragon capsule. they'll enjoy the day with a meal together, listen to christmas music, watch films and talk to their families back on earth. you know, in christmas time, the holiday season, it's about spending time with friends and family and loved ones. you know, this year, we're going to be in orbit away from them, so we want to send our heartfelt merry christmas and we hope you have a wonderful holiday.

as well as being an astronaut, butch is also a pastor and is said to be planning a christmas sermon. we have an object —j looks like a satellite going from north to south, probably in a polar orbit. l christmas messages from space have become a firm favourite during the holiday season. in december 1965, astronauts on board nasa's gemini vi—a jokingly claimed to have seen an unidentified flying object piloted by santa claus. music: jingle bells they then played jingle bells on a harmonica, making it the first song to be played in space. butch and suni are due back on earth at the end of march, but after all the delays, they may be wondering if it could be another christmas in space next year. but for now, they remain in good spirits. so from all of us to all of you... all: merry christmas. such a great story!

today might be christmas day, but it is also the first day of the jewish festival of hanukkah. commonly known as "christmukkah", it celebrates two festivals of great miracles in both religions, meaning a day of epic celebrations for mixed jewish—christian families. tamzin kraftman reports. christmukkah, once a joke made byjews in largely christian countries, has become a reality for many across the world, as for the first time in almost 20 years, christmas and hanukkah are falling on the same day. it's a chance for this multi—faith family, who grew up observing separate religions, to come together and share their cultural traditions. growing up in a country like england, not celebrating christmas, it's actually been quite fun to do some of the things that everyone else was doing growing up that you were sometimes missing out on. so it's been really fun to be able to lean into some of those things. so what does it mean to actually be able to celebrate the holidays together? it's quite...

it's quite exciting for us, i think. we've tried to incorporate kind of hanukkah decorations into our kind of christmas decorations. it's been nice kind of trying to bring elements of hanukkah into christmas for us. you have a young daughter. what does it mean to be able to celebrate the holidays all together? we want to give her the chance to kind of access any aspect of her identity. so if she, you know, that's completely her choice. i visited st cyprian�*s church in central london, where i met with the co—directors of the council of christians and jews, an organisation that works to support interfaith relations. it's been increasingly challenging in interfaith spheres over the past year or so, and it's more and more important that we continue to come together, to celebrate together, to grieve together, to share what we have in common, but also to explore our difference. what's most important really is, you know, creating spaces where we can

better understand one another, where we can build stronger relationships and friendships and learn more about and with one another. it's been a tough year for interfaith relations in general. it's been a year we've seen a real surge in anti—semitism and in other forms of racial and religious prejudice. it's been a really hard year in lots of ways. and it's good to have something to celebrate and good to have something tojust get our minds off some of the more difficult news stories that are out there. i've come to north london to meet onejewish baker who's commemorated this unique union of the two festivals in the best way she knows how. so what i do is i take the best elements from both kind of traditional foods and i blend them. so what we have over here is our stollen—challah. so stollen is traditionally a german christmas bread, but we make a lighter version. so we use our challah which we are famous for our challah.

also we have over here mince pie doughnuts, which people like, theyjust love so much. so that's what we do. we're really good at blending traditions. happy christmukkah! it'll be 16 years until the next one. tamzin kraftman, bbc news. every time i see that picture of the doughnut mince pies, it makes me very, very hungry. i am going to be searching it out after this! we are very near the end of the programme, but take a look at these pictures, because this is some way to spend christmas morning. this was boscombe beach in bournemouth earlier today, where hundreds took a cold plunge into the english channel, raising money for macmillan nurses. well done, all of you! stay with us on bbc news. hello.

it was an exceedingly mild christmas day. not a record breaker, but the met office reports that it was the mildest since 2016 overall, looking across the uk, and the highest temperature was recorded in aberdeen 14.2 celsius, with similar values elsewhere across the country. how about boxing day? well, not quite as mild, but the temperatures will remain above the average for the rest of the year, and also a little bit of rain in the forecast. the satellite picture hasn't really changed much since yesterday. we still have this conveyor belt of cloud to the west of us, and ahead of this conveyor belt of cloud, a tongue, a stream of mild air all the way from the azores, spreading across the uk, western europe and into the baltic and also much of scandinavia. so we start the day with temperatures hovering between 5—10 celsius, so a little fresher compared to the last couple of nights. so here's the forecast then for boxing day, a weather front sneaks

into northern ireland and scotland, so expect a little bit of rain here on and off, perhaps in glasgow into edinburgh. some sunny spells are possible in the north east of england around the pennines, yorkshire, maybe one or two reaching lancashire as well, but across the bulk of wales and england, it will be cloudy. and those temperatures between around 9—12 celsius, so certainly on the mild side. now here's friday's weather forecast, high pressure still very much in charge of the weather, and weather fronts once again brushing the northwest of the uk. so, again, some rain possible in northern ireland, scotland, but elsewhere, it's going to be pretty much the same. so rather cloudy, odd sunny spell here and there, generally to the lee of high ground, so to the east. and those temperatures will be around 9—12 celsius. now let's have a look at the weekend, here's saturday. signs of change. now we're starting to see the weather coming in from the west. so this low pressure moves into ireland. it brings some outbreaks of rain, once again to scotland too.

no rain for england and wales, but there will be some bigger, sunnier breaks, i think, in that layer of cloud. temperatures won't change much, still hovering around 10 celsius. and then this outlook takes us into new year's. the weather is expected to turn more unsettled beyond new year's eve, and potentially quite stormy, maybe even colder weather reaching us. that's it. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. 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 — time to look back at the year in sport. 2024 was an extraordinary 12 months of sport.