25/12/2016 BBC Weekend News

Hello, good afternoon and a very Happy Christmas.

For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Queen has missed

the Christmas Day church service at Sandringham.

Buckingham Palace say she's still recovering from a heavy cold.

Shortly, in her pre-recorded Christmas broadcast,

the Queen will speak of drawing strength from meeting ordinary

Our Royal correspondent, Nicholas Witchell, reports.

Morning service at Sandringham, part of the Royal family's

Christmas Day routine but with one significant absentee

While other members of her family, including the Duke of Edinburgh

gathered at the church, the Queen remained at Sandringham

from what Buckingham Palace has described as a heavy cold.

In a short statement, the palace said that she would take part

in the Christmas celebrations, her absence from the church service,

the first time in many years that she has not attended,

is understood to be a precautionary measure,

Also absent from Sandringham, the Duke and Duchess

of Cambridge and their children, George and Charlotte.

They attended church in the Berkshire village

of Bucklebury, where they are spending Christmas Day

with the Duchess's family, the Middletons.

In her Christmas Day broadcast, accorded at Buckingham Palace

several weeks ago, the Queen talks about inspiration.

She reflects on the achievement of Olympic and Paralympic athletes

from Britain and the Commonwealth, when even she met at a palace

reception in October, and this year, when the Queen has marked her 90th

birthday, she will refer to the inspirational work

of the many charities with which she has been

She will talk also about the work of the many unsung heroes

carers, community leaders and good neighbours,

"ordinary people", as she puts it, "doing extraordinary things."

Back at Sandringham, the Royal family, minus the Queen,

left church, led by the Duke of Edinburgh, to return

to Sandringham house for Christmas lunch and then to settle down

President Putin of Russia has ordered an inquiry after a military

plane heading for Syria crashed into the Black Sea killing

There will be a national day of mourning tomorrow.

Among the 92 people on board were members

From Moscow, Steve Rosenberg sent this report.

VOICEOVER: This is one of the final images of the Tupolev 154 jet.

It was taken by a journalist before he boarded the 'plane.

The aircraft crashed into the Black Sea.

The Russians scrambled helicopters and ships

but the search became a recovery operation.

The 'plane had taken off from a military airfield

stopping in Sochi to refuel and the final destination was Syria,

But minutes after leaving Sochi, it crashed.

President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to the families of the

victims and promised him their full support.

On board were more than 60 members of the Russian army's famous

song and dance ensemble, once known as the Red Army choir.

They had been due to give a concert at the Russian airbase in Syria.

Most civilian airlines have stopped using the Tupolev 154,

once the workhorse of the Russian aviation industry.

In 2010, a Tupolev 154 carrying the Polish president crashed

a similar plane caught fire in Siberia before take-off.

Throughout the day, the people of Moscow brought flowers to the

headquarters of the Russian Army choir. This disaster has left Russia

stunned and silent. The Kremlin has promised a thorough investigation

into this tragedy. It has also declared tomorrow a day of national

mourning. There's been a powerful earthquake

in southern chilly. The US Geological Survey says it

struck 140 miles southwest of the city of Puerto Montt and had

a magnitude of 7.7. but so far there are no details

of damage or casualties. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin

Welby says 2016 has left the world He was speaking during his Christmas

sermon at Canterbury Cathedral. And Pope Francis has

called for an end Our Religious Affairs Correspondent

Martin Bashir reports. VOICEOVER: Entering

Canterbury Cathedral Justin Welby focused

his Christmas Day and division that has marked both

domestic and international politics The end of 2016 finds us

all in a different kind of world. which feels more awash

with fear and division. He went on to suggest

that our anxiety is a clear sign that placing our trust in material

prosperity has failed. The uncertainty of our world,

of our feelings, tells us that our values

are in the wrong place. In Rome, where additional

security was in place Pope Francis focused

on the plight of children, pleading with all parties to end

the conflict in Syria. TRANSLATION: It is time for weapons

to be still forever, to actively seek a negotiated

solution so that civil coexistence

can be restored in the country. Pope Francis concluded

by appealing for Christians to stand out as people

of compassion and self-sacrifice. That is all from me for now. I will

be back with the main news at half past 11.

From everybody here, have a very merry Christmas.

While you have been tucking into your Christmas lunch, temperature

shooting up outside, we are not going to beat any records this

Christmas but