members of the royal family have been informed. in his christmas message, pope francis highlighted the tragedies in yemen and syria, which he said are being passed over in silence. and lift off! the world s most powerful telescope has blasted into space soon to offer unprecedented images of the universe. # while we re here can we all spare a thought # for the ones who have gone #. and christmas with ed sheeran and elton we find out how the stars spend the festive period. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. the queen has spoken movingly
so many people commenting about how personal that message was, the speech, and how touched everybody was buy it. speech, and how touched everybody was bu it. , , , was buy it. absolutely, everything about it, from was buy it. absolutely, everything about it, from the was buy it. absolutely, everything about it, from the photograph - was buy it. absolutely, everything about it, from the photograph onl was buy it. absolutely, everything i about it, from the photograph on the desk which was taken to mark their diamond wedding anniversary, the brooch that she was wearing, which she wore on her honeymoon in 1947, and you know, her christmas broadcasts always have a theme and it is not surprising that this year, when she lost her husband of 73 years, that prince philip was the thread that runs through the entire broadcast and as you say, many people said it was very poignant and personal because the queen is not somebody who tends to wear her heart on her sleeve and talk with such affect
that is the theme of the day, of this second christmas under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic. even main traditional christmas events such as the pope s urbi et 0rbi message were scaled back, with fewer visitors allowed in. pointing to ongoing turmoil in syria, yemen and iraq, pope francis said the world is becoming desensitised to suffering. the pontiff called for more dialogue and warned against a tendency to withdraw. translation: in this time | of pandemic, we have come to realise this more and more. that our capacity for social relationships is sorely tried. there is a growing tendency to withdraw, to do it all by ourselves, to stop making an effort to encounter others and do things together. 0n the international level,
in her christmas day message about her grief at the death of her husband, prince philip. she said there was one familiar laugh missing , and expressed empathy with other families who d lost loved ones this year. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. windsor castle on christmas morning. the royal standard signifying that the queen was in residence. merry christmas. the prince of wales and duchess of cornwalljoined the congregation at st george s chapel for morning service. the queen did not attend as a precaution against covid, according to officials. from the very first moments of the queen s broadcast, there was a keen sense of the loss she has felt over the death of prince philip last april, after their 73 years of marriage. although it is a time of great happiness and good cheer for many, christmas can be hard for those who have lost loved ones.
even main traditional christmas events such as the pope s urbi et 0rbi message were scaled back, with fewer visitors allowed in, pointing to ongoing turmoil in syria, yemen and iraq, pope francis said the world is becoming desensitised to suffering. the pontiff called for more dialogue and warned against a tendency to withdraw. translation: in this time | of pandemic, we have come to realise this even more. 0ur capacity for social relationships is sorely tried. there is a growing tendency to withdraw, to do it all by ourselves, to stop making an effort to encounter others and to do things together. 0n the international level, too, there is the risk of avoiding dialogue, the risk that this complex crisis will lead to taking short cuts. in the west bank city of bethlehem, where christians believejesus