:00:19. > :00:22.For the first time in almost 30 years, the Queen has missed
:00:23. > :00:25.the Christmas Day church service at Sandringham.
:00:26. > :00:28.Buckingham Palace say she's still recovering from a heavy cold.
:00:29. > :00:31.Later today, in a pre-recorded Christmas broadcast,
:00:32. > :00:33.she will speak of drawing strength from meeting ordinary people doing
:00:34. > :00:44.Our Royal correspondent, Nicholas Witchell, reports.
:00:45. > :00:51.Morning service at Sandringham, part of the Royal family's Christmas Day
:00:52. > :00:54.routine but with one significant absentee this year, the Queen. While
:00:55. > :00:58.other members of her family, including the Duke of Edinburgh,
:00:59. > :01:01.gathered at the church, the Queen remained at Sandringham house is
:01:02. > :01:04.continuing to recover from what Buckingham Palace described as a
:01:05. > :01:09.heavy cold. In a statement the palace searcher would take part in
:01:10. > :01:13.the family celebrations. Her absence from the church service, the first
:01:14. > :01:23.time in many years she hasn't attended, is understood to be a
:01:24. > :01:25.precautionary measure, there is no sense of on due concern. Almost --
:01:26. > :01:32.also absent were the Duchess and Duke of Cambridge and their
:01:33. > :01:36.children. They attended a service with the Middleton family. In the
:01:37. > :01:40.Christmas Day broadcast, the Queen talks about inspiration and reflects
:01:41. > :01:44.on the achievements of Olympic and Paralympic athletes from Britain and
:01:45. > :01:48.the Commonwealth, many of whom she met at a palace reception in
:01:49. > :01:52.October. This year when the Queen has marked her 90th birthday, she
:01:53. > :01:56.will refer to the inspirational work of many of the charities with which
:01:57. > :02:01.she has been associated. She will also talk about the work of many on
:02:02. > :02:05.the unsung heroes she meets, carers, community leaders and good
:02:06. > :02:07.neighbours, ordinary people doing extraordinary things, as she puts
:02:08. > :02:12.it. Nicholas Witchell, BBC News. A Russian military plane with more
:02:13. > :02:15.than 90 people on board has The plane was carrying 64 members
:02:16. > :02:19.of the renowned Red Army Choir and was heading from Sochi
:02:20. > :02:21.to Latakia in Syria. The Russian Defence Ministry says
:02:22. > :02:24.there are no survivors. From Moscow, Steve Rosenberg
:02:25. > :02:25.sent this report. This is one of the final images
:02:26. > :02:28.of the Tupolev-154 jet. It was taken by a journalist before
:02:29. > :02:32.he boarded the plane. The aircraft crashed
:02:33. > :02:38.into the Black Sea. The Russians scrambled helicopters
:02:39. > :02:40.and ships but the search became The plane had taken off from
:02:41. > :02:47.a military airfield near Moscow. It flew south, stopping
:02:48. > :02:51.in Sochi to refuel. The final destination was Syria,
:02:52. > :02:55.and Russia's airbase near Latakia, but minutes after leaving
:02:56. > :03:01.Sochi, it crashed. At the Russian Defence Ministry,
:03:02. > :03:04.a spokesman said that more than He said the recovery
:03:05. > :03:11.operation was continuing. On board were more than 60 members
:03:12. > :03:14.of the Russian army's famous song and dance ensemble,
:03:15. > :03:18.once known as the Red Army Choir. They had been due to give a concert
:03:19. > :03:23.at the Russian airbase in Syria. Most civilian airlines have stopped
:03:24. > :03:25.using the Tupolev-154, once the workhorse of
:03:26. > :03:31.the Russian aviation industry. In 2010, a Tupolev-154 carrying
:03:32. > :03:36.the Polish President crashed The following year,
:03:37. > :03:39.a similar plane caught fire Now the investigation begins
:03:40. > :03:46.into another disaster, to find out why this Russian plane
:03:47. > :03:52.fell from the sky into the sea. Church leaders are using their
:03:53. > :03:58.Christmas sermons to reflect on the emotional impact of global
:03:59. > :04:02.events in 2016. The Archbishop of Canterbury,
:04:03. > :04:04.Justin Welby, told his congregation that the end of the year leaves
:04:05. > :04:23.people in a less predictable world. Entering Canterbury Cathedral in
:04:24. > :04:27.time-honoured fashion, Archbishop Justin Welby focused his Christmas
:04:28. > :04:30.Day sermon on the uncertainty and division that has marked both
:04:31. > :04:38.domestic and international politics over the last year. He described
:04:39. > :04:42.2016 as a year of unpredictability and uncertainty, where fear and
:04:43. > :04:47.division were in danger of overwhelming us and went on to
:04:48. > :04:57.suggest that our anxiety is a clear sign that placing our trust in
:04:58. > :05:02.material prosperity has failed. In Rome, where additional security was
:05:03. > :05:05.in place following the Berlin attack, Pope Francis also criticised
:05:06. > :05:08.materialism and appealed to Christians to stand out as people of
:05:09. > :05:11.compassion and self-sacrifice. That's it for now, the next news
:05:12. > :05:35.on BBC One will be at 2:50pm. Good morning. It is one thing not
:05:36. > :05:39.having a white Christmas, as most of us don't. It's another, it's not
:05:40. > :05:43.even feeling like winter out there. It seems like this like Aberdeen --
:05:44. > :05:47.in Aberdeenshire from one of the Weather Watchers this morning, many
:05:48. > :05:51.Sunni part of the UK have broken 14 Celsius today but it is widely into
:05:52. > :05:54.double figures, exceptionally mild for Christmas Day, close to a record
:05:55. > :05:58.and we will keep watching as the day goes on. Not all of us have seen
:05:59. > :06:01.sunshine, a fair amount of cloud and some outbreaks of rain to western
:06:02. > :06:05.parts of the UK. More persistent rain southwards through parts of
:06:06. > :06:08.Scotland and Northern Ireland as the day goes on. Windy again with strong
:06:09. > :06:09.gusts in