25/12/2013 BBC News

Good afternoon. A very Happy Christmas. Thousands of people

without electricity following the storms earlier this week have been

warned that they'll probably remain cut-off until tomorrow. All of this

following the storms of the last few days. Nearly 50,000 homes remain

without power in southern and eastern England. Kent, Surrey and

Sussex are worst affected. More than 100 flood warnings are still in

place in England and Wales, and 15 in Scotland. Ben Geoghegan is in

Leatherhead. Ben? Yes, this is the River Mole which burst its banks

yesterday. It is still flowing forcefully, but, happily for people

around here, the river level is slowly dropping. The Christmas storm

has meant that, for some people here, it has been a day of mopping

up and assessing the damage. For thousands of people in Southern

England, Christmas Day began knee-deep in water. Rivers burst

their banks. In some places, the water only started receding in the

early hours of the morning. In Leatherhead, Christmas Day has been

clear-up day. The town's football club was flooded, but their football

season is now on hold. We have been hit by at least four foot of floods

in my opinion and the damage is immense. Christmas Day should be a

day for relaxing with family and friends. Instead, for some, it's

been spent clearing up the mess. At this local pub, they were preparing

for a party. Instead, they have been pumping out the water from the beer

cellar for hours. This part of Surrey has suffered a Christmas

double whammy, not just floods but power cuts, too. Across the UK,

50,000 people were still without electricity this morning. It will be

like a 19 40s Christmas with candles. A bit of a shock to the

system. We don't expect it. We have had a lot of rain. Yeah, it's not

good for Christmas Day. Electricity has come back on for a few hours and

disappeared. REPORTER: That must be frustrating?

It is. In different parts of England,

firefighters broke their strike because of the Christmas storms and

helped evacuate people at risk. It hasn't been a white Christmas, but a

wet one. For some, it may turn out to be a Christmas they will want to

forget. Well, the good news for people

living here is that the water level is going down all the time. There is

no rain forecast tonight. The bad news is the energy companies say

that if you haven't been reconnected by now, today, then you are likely

to suffer an electricity blackout until tomorrow. People not likely to

be connected back to the Grid until some time tomorrow. Thank you.

The Queen has been celebrating Christmas with members of her family

in Sandringham. In her Christmas message, just broadcast, the Queen

has looked back on some of the notable Royal events of the year, as

our Royal correspondent, Nicholas Witchell, reports.

Morning service at Sandringham Church and everyone was there, with

one exception. Prince George had been left in his nursery. More

interested, his parents told the crowds, in the wrapping paper than

his presents. At five months old, who can blame him? In her Christmas

Day broadcast, recorded a few days ago, the Queen spoke of the

importance of pausing occasionally to take stock. We all need to get

the balance right between action and reflection. She looked back across

60 years. I myself had cause to reflect this year at Westminster

Abbey on my own pledge of service made in that great church on

Coronation Day 60 years earlier. All this I promise to do...

After reflecting on the past and the many changes that have occurred

since she came to the throne, a nudge towards the future. Prince

Charles was shown deputising for the Queen at a Commonwealth Summit. Then

the birth of the new third in line to the throne. Here at home, my own

family is a little larger this Christmas. The arrival of a baby

gives everyone the chance to contemplate the future with renewed

happiness and hope. After the christening, we gathered for the

traditional photograph. This is video footage which hasn't been seen

before. It -- its significance, of course, it shows three future

monarchs. It was a happy occasion bringing together four generations.

2013 has been the year when the hitherto transition from the Queen

to her successors has become visible. It is a process which must

be expected to continue very slowly in 2014.

About 5,000 British troops are celebrating Christmas Day in

Afghanistan. More than 1,700 kilogrammes of turkey breast will be

served, and more than 8,000 mince pies. Troops will be given extra

time for phone calls home - as they spend what is due to be the final

Christmas in Helmand. Combat troops are scheduled to withdraw next year.

Pope Francis began the Christmas Day messages with a call for humility

and peace. The Archbishop of Canterbury has also given his first

Christmas Day sermon as Archbishop - highlighting what he described as

the injustices facing Britain's poor. Our religious affairs

correspondent, Robert Piggott, was watching.

For the popstar Pope on his first Christmas in Rome, a rapturous

reception from the crowd packing St Peter's Square. In nine months,

Francis has captured the imagination of young and old alike and

transformed the face of the Roman Catholic Church. His message, a plea

for an end to the violence afflicting South Sudan, the Central

African Republic, Nigeria and Iraq. TRANSLATION: Wars shatter and hurt

so many lives. Too many lives have been shattered in recent times by

the conflict in Syria, fuelling hatred and vengeance. We must

continue to ask the Lord to spare the blessed Syrian people from

further suffering to enable all parties in the conflict to put an

end to all violence. In his first sermon as Archbishop of

Canterbury, Justin Welby told Anglicans to challenge the greed and

selfishness that contributed to poverty in Britain. Where people are

measured in their worth by only what they can produce, what economic

value they have, then Christ is denied and our own humanity is

corrupted. Archbishop Welby said no society could be truly happy while

misery and want persisted. At least 37 people are reported to

have been killed in two separate bomb attacks against Christians in

the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. One exploded near a church as

worshippers as they left a Christmas service. Another bomb ripped through

an outdoor market in a predominantly Christian area of the city.

Now to Russia, where 29 of the 30 Greenpeace crew, who were detained

in the Russian Arctic, have had the charges against them dropped. The

final activist - who is Italian - couldn't be dealt with today because

there was no translator. Six of the activists are British.

The next news on BBC One is at 11.05pm. Enjoy your afternoon. Bye

for now. Hello, there. A very Merry

Christmas. Compared to recent events, most of us are enjoying a