:00:22. > :00:29.Good afternoon. A very Happy Christmas. Thousands of people
:00:30. > :00:32.without electricity following the storms earlier this week have been
:00:33. > :00:41.warned that they'll probably remain cut-off until tomorrow. All of this
:00:42. > :00:44.following the storms of the last few days. Nearly 50,000 homes remain
:00:45. > :00:50.without power in southern and eastern England. Kent, Surrey and
:00:51. > :00:53.Sussex are worst affected. More than 100 flood warnings are still in
:00:54. > :01:02.place in England and Wales, and 15 in Scotland. Ben Geoghegan is in
:01:03. > :01:07.Leatherhead. Ben? Yes, this is the River Mole which burst its banks
:01:08. > :01:12.yesterday. It is still flowing forcefully, but, happily for people
:01:13. > :01:15.around here, the river level is slowly dropping. The Christmas storm
:01:16. > :01:21.has meant that, for some people here, it has been a day of mopping
:01:22. > :01:26.up and assessing the damage. For thousands of people in Southern
:01:27. > :01:31.England, Christmas Day began knee-deep in water. Rivers burst
:01:32. > :01:37.their banks. In some places, the water only started receding in the
:01:38. > :01:41.early hours of the morning. In Leatherhead, Christmas Day has been
:01:42. > :01:47.clear-up day. The town's football club was flooded, but their football
:01:48. > :01:52.season is now on hold. We have been hit by at least four foot of floods
:01:53. > :01:58.in my opinion and the damage is immense. Christmas Day should be a
:01:59. > :02:04.day for relaxing with family and friends. Instead, for some, it's
:02:05. > :02:08.been spent clearing up the mess. At this local pub, they were preparing
:02:09. > :02:12.for a party. Instead, they have been pumping out the water from the beer
:02:13. > :02:17.cellar for hours. This part of Surrey has suffered a Christmas
:02:18. > :02:22.double whammy, not just floods but power cuts, too. Across the UK,
:02:23. > :02:28.50,000 people were still without electricity this morning. It will be
:02:29. > :02:34.like a 19 40s Christmas with candles. A bit of a shock to the
:02:35. > :02:41.system. We don't expect it. We have had a lot of rain. Yeah, it's not
:02:42. > :02:44.good for Christmas Day. Electricity has come back on for a few hours and
:02:45. > :02:49.disappeared. REPORTER: That must be frustrating?
:02:50. > :02:53.It is. In different parts of England,
:02:54. > :02:58.firefighters broke their strike because of the Christmas storms and
:02:59. > :03:03.helped evacuate people at risk. It hasn't been a white Christmas, but a
:03:04. > :03:07.wet one. For some, it may turn out to be a Christmas they will want to
:03:08. > :03:11.forget. Well, the good news for people
:03:12. > :03:15.living here is that the water level is going down all the time. There is
:03:16. > :03:19.no rain forecast tonight. The bad news is the energy companies say
:03:20. > :03:25.that if you haven't been reconnected by now, today, then you are likely
:03:26. > :03:29.to suffer an electricity blackout until tomorrow. People not likely to
:03:30. > :03:34.be connected back to the Grid until some time tomorrow. Thank you.
:03:35. > :03:37.The Queen has been celebrating Christmas with members of her family
:03:38. > :03:41.in Sandringham. In her Christmas message, just broadcast, the Queen
:03:42. > :03:44.has looked back on some of the notable Royal events of the year, as
:03:45. > :03:51.our Royal correspondent, Nicholas Witchell, reports.
:03:52. > :03:55.Morning service at Sandringham Church and everyone was there, with
:03:56. > :03:59.one exception. Prince George had been left in his nursery. More
:04:00. > :04:03.interested, his parents told the crowds, in the wrapping paper than
:04:04. > :04:13.his presents. At five months old, who can blame him? In her Christmas
:04:14. > :04:16.Day broadcast, recorded a few days ago, the Queen spoke of the
:04:17. > :04:21.importance of pausing occasionally to take stock. We all need to get
:04:22. > :04:29.the balance right between action and reflection. She looked back across
:04:30. > :04:33.60 years. I myself had cause to reflect this year at Westminster
:04:34. > :04:40.Abbey on my own pledge of service made in that great church on
:04:41. > :04:50.Coronation Day 60 years earlier. All this I promise to do...
:04:51. > :04:54.After reflecting on the past and the many changes that have occurred
:04:55. > :04:58.since she came to the throne, a nudge towards the future. Prince
:04:59. > :05:02.Charles was shown deputising for the Queen at a Commonwealth Summit. Then
:05:03. > :05:07.the birth of the new third in line to the throne. Here at home, my own
:05:08. > :05:12.family is a little larger this Christmas. The arrival of a baby
:05:13. > :05:18.gives everyone the chance to contemplate the future with renewed
:05:19. > :05:21.happiness and hope. After the christening, we gathered for the
:05:22. > :05:30.traditional photograph. This is video footage which hasn't been seen
:05:31. > :05:34.before. It -- its significance, of course, it shows three future
:05:35. > :05:39.monarchs. It was a happy occasion bringing together four generations.
:05:40. > :05:43.2013 has been the year when the hitherto transition from the Queen
:05:44. > :05:49.to her successors has become visible. It is a process which must
:05:50. > :05:54.be expected to continue very slowly in 2014.
:05:55. > :06:00.About 5,000 British troops are celebrating Christmas Day in
:06:01. > :06:03.Afghanistan. More than 1,700 kilogrammes of turkey breast will be
:06:04. > :06:08.served, and more than 8,000 mince pies. Troops will be given extra
:06:09. > :06:11.time for phone calls home - as they spend what is due to be the final
:06:12. > :06:18.Christmas in Helmand. Combat troops are scheduled to withdraw next year.
:06:19. > :06:22.Pope Francis began the Christmas Day messages with a call for humility
:06:23. > :06:26.and peace. The Archbishop of Canterbury has also given his first
:06:27. > :06:28.Christmas Day sermon as Archbishop - highlighting what he described as
:06:29. > :06:33.the injustices facing Britain's poor. Our religious affairs
:06:34. > :06:40.correspondent, Robert Piggott, was watching.
:06:41. > :06:44.For the popstar Pope on his first Christmas in Rome, a rapturous
:06:45. > :06:50.reception from the crowd packing St Peter's Square. In nine months,
:06:51. > :06:54.Francis has captured the imagination of young and old alike and
:06:55. > :07:01.transformed the face of the Roman Catholic Church. His message, a plea
:07:02. > :07:09.for an end to the violence afflicting South Sudan, the Central
:07:10. > :07:13.African Republic, Nigeria and Iraq. TRANSLATION: Wars shatter and hurt
:07:14. > :07:17.so many lives. Too many lives have been shattered in recent times by
:07:18. > :07:23.the conflict in Syria, fuelling hatred and vengeance. We must
:07:24. > :07:26.continue to ask the Lord to spare the blessed Syrian people from
:07:27. > :07:31.further suffering to enable all parties in the conflict to put an
:07:32. > :07:36.end to all violence. In his first sermon as Archbishop of
:07:37. > :07:40.Canterbury, Justin Welby told Anglicans to challenge the greed and
:07:41. > :07:45.selfishness that contributed to poverty in Britain. Where people are
:07:46. > :07:50.measured in their worth by only what they can produce, what economic
:07:51. > :07:56.value they have, then Christ is denied and our own humanity is
:07:57. > :08:03.corrupted. Archbishop Welby said no society could be truly happy while
:08:04. > :08:07.misery and want persisted. At least 37 people are reported to
:08:08. > :08:10.have been killed in two separate bomb attacks against Christians in
:08:11. > :08:13.the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. One exploded near a church as
:08:14. > :08:16.worshippers as they left a Christmas service. Another bomb ripped through
:08:17. > :08:28.an outdoor market in a predominantly Christian area of the city.
:08:29. > :08:32.Now to Russia, where 29 of the 30 Greenpeace crew, who were detained
:08:33. > :08:35.in the Russian Arctic, have had the charges against them dropped. The
:08:36. > :08:38.final activist - who is Italian - couldn't be dealt with today because
:08:39. > :08:41.there was no translator. Six of the activists are British.
:08:42. > :08:43.The next news on BBC One is at 11.05pm. Enjoy your afternoon. Bye
:08:44. > :09:03.for now. Hello, there. A very Merry
:09:04. > :09:05.Christmas. Compared to recent events, most of us are enjoying a