Peace between the israelis and the palestinians. Pope francis. Wholl be weve will be looking back at royal year later. The queen has missed her annual Christmas Day visit to church because of a heavy cold. Other members of the royal family including the Duke Of Edinburgh attended the service at sandringham without her. In her traditional christmas broadcast, the queen focussed on the theme of inspiration. Our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, reports. She recalled that this had been the year of her 90th birthday and paid tribute to the inspiring work of charities with which she has been associated. And she said much more could be achieved globally by acting with others. It is understandable that we sometimes think the worlds problems are so big that we can do little to help. On our own, we cannot end wars will wipe out injustice. But the humility and impact of thousands of small act of goodness can be bigger than we imagined. Her own life, she said, had been guided by the inspiring message of christianity. Christs example helps me see the value of doing small things with great love. Whoever does them, and whatever they themselves believe. It was a broadcast by a monarch who, although usually anita macro unusually indisposed this christmas, shows no sign of yielding to the passage of yea rs. Sign of yielding to the passage of years. For the queen this year, there has been that significant 90th birthday and some lightening of her workload but there is no expectation whatsoever that she will step away from the core duties of her role as monarch and head of state. Nicholas witchell, bbc news at Buckingham Palace. I spoke to nicholas a short while ago and he spoke more about this idea of inspiration being the main focus of the queens christmas address this year. An insight into the importance to her of her Christian Faith within the context of things that are inspiring. She started by highlighting the achievements of olympic and paralympic athletes from britain and the commonwealth, the inspiring impact they have had and then as we heard, that she draws inspiration and strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things, going around the country, the unsung heroes, as she says. Interesting that she should also highlights the Duke Of Edinburgh s award and the Princes Trust respectively, celebrating anniversaries of 60 and 40 celebrating anniversaries of 60 and a0 yea rs. Celebrating anniversaries of 60 and a0 years. And then talking about her 90th birthday and the charities of which she has been patron so many yea rs, which she has been patron so many years, 600 of them and the inspiring work that they do and this observation that charitable work is much more effectively done when it is done collectively, rather than individually, the sentence on our own, we cannot end wars or wipe out injustice but the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness can be bigger than we imagine. That is the theme, inspiring and brought out, as i say, via athletes, charities and from her own family, the Duke Of Edinburgh and the prince of wales. Given we know she has a heavy cold, we should point out this was recorded a few weeks ago. It is normally early december, yes, before the cold gripped her. And on that, of course, no appearance at church, at sandringham today, the first time for many years but she has not appeared on Christmas Day at the service. No sense of undue concern, though. I think we can detect both from the demeanour of the family, who we saw, including the Duke Of Edinburgh, who also had a heavy cold. He was there, looking as though there was nothing much wrong with him. I think they all looked very relaxed and certainly, Buckingham Palace officials are indicating that there is in no way any cause for alarm. It was a protective move, given that she is the age that she is. It was felt better she should remain indoors and not go out to church on this occasion. It will have disappointed many people who had made the journey to sandringham, not only did they not see the queen, they did not see either Prince William or the duchess of cambridge or george or charlotte, who coincidentally, this year, are spending Christmas Day with the Middleton Family in berkshire. Nicholas witchell and you can see the queens christmas message in full on bbc newsjust the queens christmas message in full on bbc news just after 5 15pm. The aircraft crashed into the black sea, the search became a recovery operation. There were no survivors. The plane had taken from a Military Airfield near moscow. It flew south, stopping in sochi to refuel. The Final Destination was syria, russias airbase near latakia but minutes after leaving sochi, it crashed. President putin offered his condolences to the families of the victims will stop they promised he promised his full support. On board were more than 60 members of the russian armys 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 15a, once the workhorse of the Russian Aviation industry. In 2010, it tupolev 15a carrying a polish president crashed in russia while trying to land. The following year, a similar plane caught fire in siberia, before take off. Throughout the day, muscovites 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. Steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. In the last couple of hours, President Putin has spoken about the crash. Translation act macro. Version macro id like to offer my most sincere condolences to offer my most sincere condolences to the families of our citizens who died on the back seat crashed today. The governed and will form a committee to investigate the incident which will be chaired by the Minister Of Transport. We will spiral investigate the incident and get to the root of the tragedy and we will offer all all possible support to the families. We will thoroughly investigate the incident. With us is our Bbc Russian Service correspondent and the Minister Of Transport mentioned by the president , and as yet, nothing being ruled out. Yes, he said that they are looking at all versions of this air crash. He did not rule out the possibility of a terrorist act. Of course, it looks quite worrying where military aircraft, taking off from a military airbase, crashes just two minutes after taking off. It does look quite worrying. The voices of the pilots were heard in the run up to the moment when apparently, the plane disappeared off the radar. There was some communication between the aeroplane and the base and it was just routine checks and they sounded calmly, and experts say, this may mean there was a really abrupt, something really abrupt happened. And also, we dont know yet what has caused the crash. But the fact is the wreckage is spread over quite a significant distance and experts say usually, this is a sign of the fact that the plane as dismantled or has exploded in the air. Whether or not this is the case this time, we will see, we will find out as soon as they discover the black boxes. Will find out as soon as they discover the black boxeslj mentioned those on board, among them this group of very renowned musicians. Yes, 64 members of the Russian Red Army choir. They are pa rt Russian Red Army choir. They are part of the Famous Military Ensemble named after alexander. They are well recognised professionals, famous all over the world, doing International Concerts as well. Their image became slightly controversial and there we re slightly controversial and there were some discussions after 201a because being a military choir, they praised the efforts of Russian Service men in crimea, when they annexed the peninsular and after that, some politicians in Eastern Europe and some in some other countries said the choir must be denounced or Something Like this. But as professionals, they were well recognised all over the world. What about the type of plane in question . It is commonly used in russia. Yes, it is quite well known, the plane, considered to be relatively reliable. They started to produce it backin reliable. They started to produce it back in the 1970s, then it was modernised in the 1980s. It was widely used not only in russia but also abroad. In 2010, exactly this model, the tupolev15a was carrying the polish president and crashed near smolensk. If the polish president was using the plane, it means it was quite reliable, considered to be, anyway. Also, there were a few cases when the plane managed to land even when all three engines stopped. But of course, they are quite old, and there were discussions even before there were discussions even before the air crash that the Russian Military and the russian Civil Aviation should stop using them step by step. Aviation should stop using them stepbystep. Of course this is being felt very deeply within military circles and political circles as well. What aboutjust within ordinary russians, how will this be felt . This is a deep shock for most russians because the Red Army Choir is always receiving warm welcomes all over russia. Also, on board the plane, there was a very famous doctor, a famous humanitarian activist in russia. She was doing a lot to help children who suffered from the war in eastern ukraine. She was helping some hospitals in syria, yes, on the government controlled side but still, she was a humanitarian activist, who was loved and adored by many in russia. Thank you forjoining us. Church leaders have used their christmas sermons to reflect on the emotional impact of global events in 2016. The archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, told his congregation that the end of the year leaves people in a less predictable world. Martin the sheer reports. Happy christmas entering Canterbury Cathedral in time honoured fashion, justin welby focused his Christmas Day sermon on the uncertainty and division that has marked both domestic and International Politics over the last year. The end of 2016 finds us all in a different kind of world, one less predictable and certain, which feels more awash with fear and division. He went on to suggest that garang is i to it is a clear sign that placing our trust in material prosperity has failed. The uncertainty of our world, of our feelings, of our values are in the wrong place. In rome, where additional security was in place following the berlin attack, 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 and the International Community to actively seekin International Community to actively seek in 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. Martin bashir, bbc news. Time for the headlines. The queen pays tribute to what you call the other heroes such as carers and volu nteers other heroes such as carers and volunteers in her christmas message but is forced to miss church this morning with a cold. President putin declares a day of mourning tomorrow in russia, after a Military Plane Crashes on its way to