:00:00. > :00:07.The Queen highlights the Christian message of light triumphing over
:00:08. > :00:14.She said the world had confronted "moments of darkness" in 2015,
:00:15. > :00:19.but there was always room for optimism.
:00:20. > :00:22.But the Gospel of John contains a verse of great hope often read
:00:23. > :00:28.The light shines in the darkness and the
:00:29. > :00:35.In Cumbria, troops have arrived to help bolster defences
:00:36. > :00:38.against the threat of further flooding.
:00:39. > :00:53.And a charity single by NHS staff, beats Justin Bieber
:00:54. > :01:18.The Queen, in her Christmas Day broadcast, has spoken of the world
:01:19. > :01:20.having to confront moments of darkness over the past year.
:01:21. > :01:23.But she also talked about the Christian message of light
:01:24. > :01:25.overcoming darkness, and described Christmas as a time
:01:26. > :01:27.for people to remember "all they have to be thankful for."
:01:28. > :01:30.Here's our Royal Correspondent, Nicholas Witchell.
:01:31. > :01:45.On a damp day, the Queen departed promptly after the service,
:01:46. > :01:48.leaving younger members of the family to spend a few moments
:01:49. > :01:55.In her Christmas broadcast, the Queen
:01:56. > :01:59.There was much to be thankful for, she said,
:02:00. > :02:01.but, though she didn't identify any particular incidents,
:02:02. > :02:05.It is true that the world has had to confront moments
:02:06. > :02:09.But the Gospel of John contains a verse of great
:02:10. > :02:13.hope, often read at Christmas carol services.
:02:14. > :02:17.The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not
:02:18. > :02:24.70 years after the end of the Second World War,
:02:25. > :02:28.she paid tribute to those who had served, and the strong Christian
:02:29. > :02:31.theme continued when she spoke about people who were forced
:02:32. > :02:36.Despite being displaced and persecuted
:02:37. > :02:40.throughout his short life, Christ's unchanging message was not
:02:41. > :02:44.one of revenge or violence, but simply,
:02:45. > :02:51.On a personal note, there was a reference to the birth
:02:52. > :02:59.in May of another great grandchild, Princess Charlotte.
:03:00. > :03:01.One of the joys of living a long life is watching one's
:03:02. > :03:03.children, then grandchildren, then great-grandchildren,
:03:04. > :03:07.And this year, my family has a new member to join
:03:08. > :03:20.I'm looking forward to a busy 2016, though I have been warned
:03:21. > :03:24.I may have happy birthday sung to be more than once or twice.
:03:25. > :03:26.That, of course, was a reference to the fact
:03:27. > :03:31.that in four months' time the Queen will celebrate her 90th birthday.
:03:32. > :03:33.Yet, despite the passing of the years, 2016 will,
:03:34. > :03:41.Nicholas Witchell, BBC News at Buckingham Palace.
:03:42. > :03:44.The Army's been brought in to help protect flood-hit
:03:45. > :03:49.With up to six inches of rain forecast for the area today,
:03:50. > :03:50.the government's emergency committee, Cobra, has been
:03:51. > :04:06.From the village of Braithwaite, here's Clare Fallon.
:04:07. > :04:08.If you look down here now, the river has already overflowed
:04:09. > :04:12.Christmas Day in Cumbria and along with yet more rain
:04:13. > :04:15.came the military, drafted in to prepare for the threat
:04:16. > :04:26.A lot of the houses down the street are very low-lying. They could yet
:04:27. > :04:34.hit again. We want to avoid that at all costs, really. This was our
:04:35. > :04:39.beautiful kitchen, we have only been here a couple of years and now it's
:04:40. > :04:43.all gone. When water poured into this home three weeks ago it
:04:44. > :04:48.happened so quickly that the only way out was through the windows. It
:04:49. > :04:56.wasn't too bad, just a foot or something. We got my mum to come
:04:57. > :05:03.over here for safety. Next thing, the water just came. Here in
:05:04. > :05:06.Braithwaite, as in many parts of Cumbria, it doesn't seem to have
:05:07. > :05:11.stopped raining through December. In some places they have been flooded
:05:12. > :05:14.three times in as many weeks. Now with more rain forecast and a
:05:15. > :05:20.weather warning in place, although it can do is wait, watch and hope
:05:21. > :05:24.that it doesn't happen again. Claire Fallon, BBC News, Braithwaite.
:05:25. > :05:27.An explosion at a gas depot in Nigeria, is thought to have
:05:28. > :05:31.It happened at a butane gas plant in the south of the country,
:05:32. > :05:33.and triggered a blaze that lasted more than five hours.
:05:34. > :05:36.Officials say the victims were waiting to fill up gas bottles,
:05:37. > :05:42.The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has met his Pakistani
:05:43. > :05:44.counterpart Nawaz Sharif, on a surprise visit
:05:45. > :05:49.Mr Modi was returning to India from Afghanistan when he stopped
:05:50. > :05:52.off, a trip that coincided with the Pakistani Prime Minister's
:05:53. > :06:01.Mr Modi is the first Indian PM to visit Pakistan since 2004.
:06:02. > :06:04.The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has used his
:06:05. > :06:08.sermon to warn that an 'apocalypse' unleashed by so-called
:06:09. > :06:10.Islamic State, means Christianity is facing elimination in the region
:06:11. > :06:15.Meanwhile Pope Francis has appealed for reconciliation after a year
:06:16. > :06:23.Our Religious Affairs Correspondent, Caroline Wyatt has more.
:06:24. > :06:32.Happy Christmas. Good will and a cheery greeting from the Archbishop
:06:33. > :06:40.of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as he arrived at Canterbury Cathedral. But
:06:41. > :06:45.as Christians gathered to celebrate the birth of Christ at services
:06:46. > :06:50.across the world, his message today was a sombre one. The Archbishop
:06:51. > :06:56.focused on the devastation unleashed by the Islamic State group in Syria
:06:57. > :07:00.and Iraq, saying it used force and indescribable cruelty. He compared
:07:01. > :07:05.it to a modern day Herod, the biblical king who massacred babies
:07:06. > :07:10.will try to kill Jesus. They hate difference, whether it is Muslims
:07:11. > :07:15.who think differently, Yazidis or Christians. And because of them, the
:07:16. > :07:20.Christians face elimination in the very region in which the faith
:07:21. > :07:28.began. That was a message echoed in Rome today. Where Pope Francis was
:07:29. > :07:33.greeted with enthusiasm by pilgrims in Saint Peter's Square. He too
:07:34. > :07:39.called for peace in a world of conflict. TRANSLATION: My thoughts
:07:40. > :07:42.also turn to those affected by brutal acts of terrorism,
:07:43. > :07:50.particularly the recent massacres that took place in Egyptian
:07:51. > :07:54.airspace, Beirut, Paris and Tunis. The Pope asked for prayers and
:07:55. > :08:03.strength for all Christians persecuted for their faith, calling
:08:04. > :08:08.them the martyrs of today. Closer to home, in North Yorkshire, the
:08:09. > :08:12.Archbishop of York took Christmas service to those who couldn't come
:08:13. > :08:18.to his at a prison. There he offered words of hope for those who were in
:08:19. > :08:21.prison, lonely, or feeling lost and abandoned, saying the message of
:08:22. > :08:28.Christmas was one of hope and salvation. Caroline Wyatt, BBC News.
:08:29. > :08:32.Finally, a hospital choir from south London has reached the top
:08:33. > :08:34.of the charts, taking coveted Christmas Number One spot.
:08:35. > :08:37.The Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir, fought off fierce competition
:08:38. > :08:38.from the Canadian singer, Justin Bieber.
:08:39. > :08:49.I can officially announced that the UK's official Christmas UK number
:08:50. > :08:57.12015... The moment the choir had been waiting for. Yellow mac NHS
:08:58. > :09:06.choir with A Bridge Over You. # When you're weary... The single
:09:07. > :09:11.was raised to help raise money for health charities and the National
:09:12. > :09:16.Health Service. That's what it was all about, it was for all the other
:09:17. > :09:22.people in the NHS, so I'm really hoping it gives them a lift. I'm
:09:23. > :09:28.amazed. I hoped, but I didn't think it would happen. Justin Bieber is
:09:29. > :09:32.such a big superstar worldwide. Justin Bieber, last week's number
:09:33. > :09:37.one, asked his 70 million-plus Twitter followers to help the NHS
:09:38. > :09:42.choir to win the chart battle. Charity singles often take the
:09:43. > :09:46.Christmas chart, an extra factor here, the way it also celebrates the
:09:47. > :09:51.work of the NHS across the entire country. With the new number one
:09:52. > :09:54.being announced on Christmas Day itself, it seems appropriate that
:09:55. > :09:59.this year in particular should see people at all levels of music,
:10:00. > :10:03.together with members of the public, together with a chance, to send
:10:04. > :10:06.their own seasonal message. -- together with the charts.
:10:07. > :10:09.The next news on BBC One is at 11.35 tonight.
:10:10. > :10:30.Until then, from me and the team, a very happy Christmas to you.
:10:31. > :10:37.Merry Christmas. Sadly, very little goodwill from the weather this
:10:38. > :10:41.festive season. But I have found some Christmassy weather, some snow
:10:42. > :10:46.falling along the tops of the hills in northern England. For many of us
:10:47. > :10:51.it felt and looked a lot more like Easter today. A photograph from
:10:52. > :10:54.Suffolk earlier. We will keep milder weather across the South and sadly
:10:55. > :10:59.the wet weather across the North through the night and Boxing Day.
:11:00. > :11:04.Increasingly we will see snow across the hills and mountains of Scotland,
:11:05. > :11:07.and it was a wet across Scotland, Northern Ireland and much of Wales
:11:08. > :11:13.overnight. Really mild across the South, temperatures in the teens.
:11:14. > :11:17.Further north, colder, close to freezing in Shetland and only a few
:11:18. > :11:21.degrees above across Scotland and northern England. We will keep the
:11:22. > :11:26.wet weather tomorrow across much of northern England. The Met office has
:11:27. > :11:30.an amber be prepared warning across Cumbria and parts of Lancashire, a
:11:31. > :11:34.sensitive area with lots of rain over recent weeks with more
:11:35. > :11:37.downpours to come tomorrow and a threat of flooding. Potential
:11:38. > :11:42.problems across North Wales and parts of Scotland, East of Scotland,
:11:43. > :11:47.as the rain keeps going. Feeling really cold with the wet weather. In
:11:48. > :11:52.the south, generally dry with some brightness possible, but overall
:11:53. > :11:54.cloudy. Temperatures of 14 or 15. Staying mild with more rain for the