Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20171225

Iraq as troops there reflect on christmas away from their loved ones. What do i miss most . A good christmas dinner i think will be the one. You know, mums cooking. And coming up in half an hour, join us for weather world. Were with the people who can make snow but not as you know, because none of this is real. Plus a look back at the years biggest weather stories and storms. Good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. The queen will pay tribute to the cities of manchester and london in her Christmas Day broadcast later today, for the way in which they dealt with this years terrorist attacks. This morning shes been attending the traditional Christmas Day service at sandringham in norfolk, along with other members of the royal family including prince harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle. 0ur royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell reports. The Christmas Morning stroll to church. And already the newcomer seems very much at home. Meghan markle, arm in arm with prince harry, accepting the good wishes of the crowd with a wave. Normally, fiancees dont get an invitation to join the royal family at christmas. But with meghans family in the united states, the queen made an exception, and there she was, accepted into the family already. In her christmas broadcast, recorded at Buckingham Palace a few days ago, the queen will pay tribute to the cities of london and manchester for the way in which they dealt with this years terrorist attacks. The queen visited some of the victims of the bombing at Manchester Arena in which 22 people died. In her broadcast, she will talk about the powerful identities of manchester and london, which, she says, shone through in the face of appalling attacks. After the Christmas Morning service at sandringham, the queen led the royal family back to the main house for christmas lunch. And there once again, the familys soon to be newest member appeared to be handling it all with confidence. Nicholas witchell, bbc news. Joining me now from among the crowds at the sandringham estate in norfolk, is our royal correspondent, daniela relph. This year in particular, i suppose, all eyes on Meghan Markle. Yes, it really did feel like thats today. There were hundreds of people here, many of whom started queueing at 5am to make sure theyve got good position outside Saint Mary Magdalene Church to watch the royal family attended a Christmas Service earlier on today. Many of them were here to see Meghan Markle. There is a big contingent of americans in the crowd today, many of them are based at local raf bases, whod come to see the other american will become a member of the royal family next may when she marries prince harry. We chatted to people in the crowd here, there was a great deal of excitement from those who caught a glimpse of Meghan Markle and the other members of the family this morning. This is the third year ive been and never seen so the third year ive been and never seen so many the third year ive been and never seen so many people. We were right the way back and got stopped, so we didnt think wed get in but we got in at about 11 30am and managed to see meghan and all of them. It was lovely. It was quite amazing to see also the younger royals, harry and william, and we noticed these guys are really normal people and its amazing. Ive been here for five yea rs amazing. Ive been here for five years and every christmas i want to come here and i cant be bothered and so it was just perfect. They all looked at us, all waved hello and it was just sweet. There were looked at us, all waved hello and it wasjust sweet. There were plenty of american banners and flags in the crowd for Meghan Markle when she left the service. Hair and prince harry stopped to talk to a number of people in the crowd. It was mainly prince harry who did the talking, but he told one family how he had spent the morning trying to keep the children of the royal family under control because they were so excited about christmas. The family is now back at the main house at sandringham, where they are having the traditional christmas lunch. When we saw Meghan Markle chatting to people, she looked very relaxed, didnt she . She seems to have fitted into the royal family very smoothly. She really does. Watching her as they walked up to church, it was interesting, she had her head bowed, im in arm with prince harry. She was snuggled in but you wondered if there were a little bit of nerves in there were a little bit of nerves in the early part of today. She made what was her very first public appearance today with the royal family ina appearance today with the royal family in a wider sense. It is the first time we saw her alongside rins charles, the duke of edinburgh, prince andrew, the duke and duchess of cambridge, the first time we saw her in that context. It was probably never looking for her to some degree. Ishii has a great deal of composure and seems incredibly at ease, she is very comfortable talking to people and that public side of her life now which she will have to embrace as prince harrys wife. She seems to dig into it rather quickly and naturally. She is of course an actress by trade, so shes used to the scrutiny and being in the public but this is clearly at a completely different level to what she is used to and yet she seems to have taken to it with great ease. And for the other royals and maybe the duchess of cambridge in particular, who are always in the spotlight on these occasions, maybe its a refreshing change as it is now somebody elses turn. Im sure it is and especially at the duchess of cambridge is pregnant, due to have her third baby in april, shes got plenty to keep herself busy and i suspect there may be is a bit of relief on her part that some of the spotlight has moved across to Meghan Markle. It was interesting watching them, they walked into church this morning alongside one another and they were chatting and talking to one another as they walked up the steps into saint Mary Magdalene bat church. You have to think that it is the duchess of cambridge who could be such an important figure in Meghan Markles wife in terms of understanding what it is like to be the new, into this very traditional aristocratic british family with all its certain ways and protocols of doing things. It struck me that the duchess of cambridge is probably going to be a very wise head in terms of offering advice and guidance to Meghan Markle going forward. Indeed. Thank you very much indeed. Christmas celebrations in bethlehem have been quieter than usual, after the violence which followed president trumps decision to move the us embassy tojerusalem. In rome, pope francis called for an end to the suffering of children, and for peace in the middle east. Martin bashir has more. Bright sunshine lit up the basilica in st peters square. But pope francis chose to focus his Christmas Day message on how conflict and oppression are casting a dark shadow over the world. He said that christmas makes us focus on the christ child, and thereby Pay Attention to the sufferings of children, particularly in the holy land. We seejesus in the children of the middle east, he said, who continue to suffer because of growing tensions between israelis and palestinians. On this festive day, let us ask the lord for peace forjerusalem. The Anglican Archbishop in jerusalem, the most reverend suhail dawani, said that christ himself wept over the city 2000 years ago and with Donald Trumps decision to officially recognisejerusalem as the capital of israel, that grief continues. When he wept at that time, he wept for the absence of peace and love and the life of people who live here. Im afraid that our lord jesus is really still weeping for this city. At the nativity scene in bethlehem, a substantial drop in tourists is testimony to how conflict continues to blight this holy place. Martin bashir, bbc news, bethlehem. The arch bridges of camp the archbishop of canterbury has used his message of the whole of byjesus and all conflicts, suffering and pain. He reminded the congregation that after the miracle of the birth ofjesus the holy family fled as refugees, like the 60 million refugees, like the 60 million refugees in the world today. He called their plight the greatest hole of misery in the world. The archbishop said thatjesus was with them and that christianity offered an to live lives of freedom through gods love. There is no power in the universe stronger than gods love. It is directed towards the liberation of human beings. That liberation of human beings. That liberation begins with the risking counter immaturity of birth of god in the form of a baby, of a teenage single mother in a poorfamily in a war torn country ruled by an infant slaughtering family murdering psychopath. Almost 200,000 people are currently serving as part of the uk armed forces. For many on foreign deployments, it means christmas away from loved ones. Yesterday, bbc news visited one military base in iraq as troops prepare to spend today farfrom home. Dan johnson reports. Im not going to pretend that its not difficult to be in iraq over christmas. Of all the families apart this christmas, these are amongst the furthest away, for the longest amount of time. This is my first christmas away from home in the army, and to be honest, im here with the lads, im here with my guys, here with my friends. So, yeah, its not with the family, but its quite good. As you see, its a good atmosphere. Its good fun. After 21 years service, you get used to being away from home. It gets harder when youve got a wife and child at home. Obviously you wont get to see your daughter open her presents on Christmas Day. Some improvisation helps give a feel of christmas in the desert. But, of course, not everything can be replicated. Theyve done quite well, doing it with old tyres. What do i miss most . A good christmas dinner i think will be the one, you know, mums cooking. Its a reminder that british troops are still serving in iraq, rebuilding the country, and others around the world. Work that doesnt stop for christmas. Dan johnson, bbc news. One of londons Busiest Railway stations has been been turned into a shelter for the homeless. Rail workers and Charity Staff have served a full christmas lunch to rough sleepers are euston station. Volu nteers volunteers worked overnight at the last train left on Christmas Eve, and transforming the concourse with decorations and tables. Its great, thought it was something we could do, it was off the wall. At first it was just do, it was off the wall. At first it wasjust an do, it was off the wall. At first it was just an idea, do, it was off the wall. At first it wasjust an idea, and do, it was off the wall. At first it was just an idea, and from there do, it was off the wall. At first it wasjust an idea, and from there it snowballed. I was definitely wanted to get involved. It was something i was pushing for, to use empty buildings, empty spaces. Use them constructively. There are so many, particularly in london. So many empty buildings that we could put to use will stop thankfully, we have one building we are using during the day and we are also opening a shelter in january, day and we are also opening a shelter injanuary, but give us the buildings and we can do something. Its not just us, buildings and we can do something. Its notjust us, there are grassroots doing this. There are sleeping acts coming in and we need places to put them. Quite a few will be given out today but we have to store them somewhere. We cant afford to pay rent in places because we dont get income. We are all grassroots, all volunteers. 0ur news correspondent, caroline davies, was there for us. This is the first time that euston station has been transformed in this way, yes, so as you can see behind me its all looking rather festive. Thats due to a team of volunteers that have been here since the last train left on Christmas Eve last night. The guests here, there are 200 of them, theyve all been invited and they would all have no permanent home to spend Christmas Day on. Network rail has received hundreds of donations both of christmas crackers, but also through to sleeping bags, which will be given out to many of the guests here. I spoke to a couple of them earlier about what it was like to spend your Christmas Day in euston station. A few of them were saying it was pretty surprising, they didnt imagine that when they woke up a few weeks ago that this is where they would be. But they said how wonderful it was to have a warm christmas meal and to be able to spread some festive cheer. Christmas is meant to be a time of giving for everyone, but one family from West Yorkshire has gone a bit further than most with their seasonal goodwill. The clarkes from halifax have collected sleeping bags and food and driven to calais, giving them out to some of the thousand refugees and migrants some of the thousands of all stop here is their story in their own words. Im katie clarke from halifax, West Yorkshire. Good morning we have had people leaving donations. Thanks very much, thats great, and they are clearly marked. So weve filled our van up with mats, sleeping bags, blankets, hats, socks, gloves. Bye, everyone. My names andy clarke. There are some people who say that they should stay where they are and try to manage it within their countries. I mean, my own personal view is that you dont move away from your family of origin, your friends of origin, your culture, your religion, from your home, everything, and put yourself into the most precarious positions, if there is not an extremely good, valid reason for doing that. Nice to meet you. A lot of the individuals that we speak to are professional people. Unfortunately, they have felt that their lives are in danger and that is why theyve had to move. Im nikki. I think they are probablyjust trying to keep themselves busy, arent they, playing football. We met some guys who really kindly took us to show where they had been living. So we followed them down this little path that started to get muddier and muddier. It looks like chaos, doesnt it . Its just really, really shocking, and its really sad that anybody has to live like that. We cant go back. In my country, there is a very dangerous guy. That is why we live here. Here is safe. I know it is not a good life but we are safe. Seeing the Living Conditions and the desperation, yeah, things were shocking but it was also really quite, quite nice to have that opportunity to talk to them. At least en people have been killed in a suicide bombing at least ten people have been killed in a suicide bombing in the afghan capital, kabul. Officials say the bomber, who was on foot, blew himself up near the countrys National Intelligence agency. So called Islamic State claimed it carried out the attack. Lets speak to our correspondent. Just bring us up to date. Whats the latest . The latest figures suggest that nine people, including two security personnel, were killed, and four others were wounded. The Intelligence Department in a green zonein Intelligence Department in a green zone in kabul. The bomber was a p pa re ntly zone in kabul. The bomber was apparently on foot and was trying to reach the checkpoint in the spy agency office, which is repeated near the International Forces agency office, which is repeated near the internationalforces inside the green zone. It is located. Before he reached the target, he was recognised by the military and Security Forces and blew himself up. Thank you very much indeed for that update. The headlines on bbc news the queen will pay tribute to how the people of manchester and london dealt with this years terror attacks in her Christmas Day broadcast. Prince harry and Meghan Markle have arrived with the queen and other senior royals at sandringham for a Christmas Service. In his christmas blessing, pope francis calls for a negotiated solution to end the conflict between israel and the palestinians. It might be deepest winter at home, but englands cricketers will step out into the summer sunshine in australia later today for the first session of the next ashes test. They have already lost the series but organisers expect a sell out at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as they try to rescue some pride. Patrick gearey reports. The ashes gone, and still they come. There is a reason englands fans are called the barmy army. When they are not watching cricket, they are playing it, and they have called up mr root to their team. Not the england captain, but his brother billy, a professional himself, who has had to watchjoe lose the urn with everyone else. I think he will always enjoy the challenge of it. I think there will be times where he is frustrated. But i think it is the sort of thing he will enjoy taking on, a tough challenge like this. Challenge is an understatement. Comment and criticism comes with cricket in australia. In the past week, root has had to watch the ashes go, and had to listen to his captaincy be described as soft and childlike by former australian skipper ricky ponting. He doesnt spend any time in our dressing room. He doesnt spend much time around the squad, so i dont think i would go about things as a little boy, for sure. I have my own way of doing things. I think it is important that you dont try and be something that youre not. Now he takes his team into a test like no other. Boxing day in melbourne is a national occasion, notjust a sporting one. Australian values of history, tradition and competition mean there will be no going easy on england. This is the notorious bay 13 of the mcg. Home to the most raucous supporters in cricket. They will be reminding which ever poor england fielder who has the misfortune of being posted near to them exactly what the score is in this series and how bad it could yet get for them. Words cant hurt england but runs do. Steve smith provides them and the aussie captain will play, despite injuring his hand in training. Ashes series can numb as well as inflict pain. Its been a good summer so far. 0bviously won back the urn which was the objective at the start of the series, and weve got an opportunity to keep winning. Thats been my message to the boys. Dont worry about 5 0 at this stage, you have to win this one first. Even on Christmas Morning, even with the series decided, they come to watch practise in melbourne. More than 90,000 will be here on boxing day to pick over the ashes left overs. Patrick gearey, bbc news in melbourne. Youve heard of recycyling but these days the new buzzword is upcycling transforming rubbish into objects of desire. A non profit workshop in austria supported by the City Government is working with the long term unemployed to make furniture, ornaments and jewellery out of old household appliances. Bethany bell reports from vienna. Its beautiful, but it is actually all made from rubbish. The process starts here at this workshop. Workers remove Hazardous Substances from Old Computers and appliances. The leftovers are sent either for recycling, or upstairs, to the trash design team. What we do is that we collect specific kinds of garbage that means electric and electronic equipment. We make design objects and jewellery, and we offer the old garbage an opportunity to get reused, or to get upcycled. They turn Vinyl Records into clocks, and dead keyboards into rings. The glass from washing machine doors become sandblasted bowls, complete with patterns. And its notjust about transforming trash. Lives are changed here, too. Many of the people who work here are the long term unemployed. Susann says she has been given a new chance. Translation it is cool. I find it really super. You make something new out of old stuff, but it hurts me when i have to cut up these old records, i had an old abba album and i thought no , and then it became a notebook. But thats the way it goes. Some of viennas Christmas Markets are getting in on the act. Trash design is on offer, alongside the gingerbread and mulled wine. The workshop has its own stalls, where products are on sale, often for pretty prices. These items have come a long way from the citys rubbish dumps to the magnificent surroundings of one of austrias old royal palaces, and when it comes to christmas presents this year, the designers are hoping that it will be upcycling all the way. Bethany bell, bbc news, vienna. Joe mcfadden might have been crowned this years stricter gun dancing champion, but today its the turn of former contestants to what their way onto the dance floor for the strictly Christmas Special. Well, they have me doing a viennese waltz with brendan, which is lovely. Its just nice shes finally got a decent partner to dance with, instead of that anton fella. It didnt take long. About 45 seconds. Merry christmas, anton a bit of a royal theme this year, isnt it . You have been to Buckingham Palace, met the duchess of cornwall. You had a cheeky cha cha with her. I got a little cheeky cha cha, im not going to lie. I enjoyed it, i think she did too. She is a very close friend of craig, apparently. Is she . So he says. So he does have a friend everyone says strictly changes your life, have you been dancing ever since . This is my normal now, thats what changed. Cue dramatic music. This is now my life. We are just watching it back now, to see if there is any tiny improvements that we could make. Compared to brian connolly, how does colin rate . They are two completely styles of dancers. So that would be really unfair of me to compare. I love you, brian, i love you, colin. Is this your own special routine youre working out here, what is this bit . This is a bit of a group dance, we are doing a jive. Well, its a jive for colin, to me itsjust running round. People say strictly changes your life, it makes people dance all the time. Did it have that effect . Absolutely. Before i used to just listen to music, now its like, oh, you do a foxtrot to this, oh, you do a quickstep to this, oh, this is a jive. Does that make you dull at dinner parties . I kind of keep it in what was it like being back on this dance floor . Right now, it feels 0k. When i hear the, kimberley dancing thejive, im going to be like. What are the unusual requests you get for the Christmas Special . We have had practice reindeer ears theyre the same as normal reindeer ears. This is pashas shiny reindeer tummy. I am seeing a mustard yellow velour thing here, what is it . Gold sorry, sorry. Jeremy vines golden shoes. They are. They are huge. They are a 12. It has a special coating on it. The jeremy vine coating. Wipe down, after your christmas dinner. Thats good. I have to descend from the ceiling on some sort of star, because when i did strictly i was never allowed to fly. Massive shoes. They have made gold shoes and there may be nobody else who can wear size 12 gold shoes apart from Audley Harrison. The Audley Harrison music. Yes. Thats right, i forgot. You must never say the words Audley Harrison. I wish it could be Christmas Every day. You know the words youre on in a minute how different is the atmosphere on a Christmas Special, compared to the highly competitive live shows every saturday . Does it feel different . We get a christmas lunch, then theres a cheese and biscuit party. We never have cheese and biscuit parties. Cheese isnt good for the voice, though, is it . Dairy products . No. Are you competitive with each other . Not really. Dave arch over here, are they competitive with each other . Laughter. Cheering and applause. You can watch the strictly come dancing Christmas Special on bbc one at 6 30pm. Lets check out the latest weather prospects. No White Christmas, but heres the forecast. No White Christmas and we werent expecting any snow this christmas for a long time now in the forecast. The forecast is going according to plan, unfortunately, this time round. But there might be a little bit of snow on the way tonight across the highlands, maybe the Southern Uplands of scotland. This is the forecast for this evening, a weather front moving through, some cold airaround. Weather front moving through, some cold air around. Some of the rain may turn to snow and they could be two to five centimetres but we really are mostly talking about the hills. The southern blues, the highlands. Not really glasgow or edinburgh. Quite chilly tonight, icy patches around. Be careful if youre travelling tomorrow morning, particularly across northern areas. That could be ice around. Boxing day itself is looking bright with a few showers. Later in the morning to the afternoon, the weather will go downhill across south western areas, maybe some snow across the welsh hills. Further north and east it will stay bright and cold. Thats the latest. Goodbye. This is bbc news. Our latest headlines the queen will pay tribute to how the people of manchester and london dealt with this years terror attacks. In her Christmas Day broadcast shell say the cities powerful identities had shone through in the face of appalling attacks. Meghan markle has made her first public appearance with the royal family as she attended the traditional Christmas Day service at the church on the queens sandringham estate in norfolk. Pope francis has renewed his call for peace in the middle east. In his traditional christmas address, he urged israel and the palestinians to continue to work towards a peaceful two state solution. Euston station is open as a shelter today and to serve a christmas dinner to hundreds of Homeless People in the capital