and — after three months of spewing lava and ash, the volcanic eruption on la palma, finally comes to an end. the queen has spoken movingly 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 cornwall joined the congregation at st george's chapel for morning service. the queen, though, 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. this year, especially, i understand why. but for me, in the months since the death of my beloved philip, i have drawn great comfort from the warmth and affection of the many tributes to his life and work from around the country, the commonwealth and the world. his sense of service, intellectual curiosity and capacity to squeeze fun out of any situation were all irrepressible. that mischievous, inquiring twinkle was as bright at the end as when i first set eyes on him. she spoke about the happiness she gained from seeing members of herfamily embracing the roles and values which meant so much to her, and she recalled how her husband's work on the environment was being taken forward. i am proud beyond words that his pioneering work has been taken on and magnified by our eldest son charles, and his eldest son william, admirably supported by camilla and catherine. while covid again means we can't celebrate quite as we may have wished... there was a passing reference to covid and a look ahead to the platinum jubilee. but this above all was a broadcast from a wife mourning her husband. there would still be joy at christmas, the queen said, even with one familiar laugh missing. so a very personal message from the queen at the end of a sad and in some ways rather troubling year, with the death of her husband and difficulties within the royal family. the year has also ended with concerns about her own health, concerns which the palace does its best to downplay, preferring instead to look ahead to next year and the platinum jubilee. nicholas witchell, bbc news, buckingham palace. earlier my colleague lukwesa burak spoke to the bbc�*s royal correspondent sarah campbell, about the personal nature of this year's queen's speech. from the photograph on the desk which was taken to mark their diamond wedding anniversary and the brooch she was wearing that she wore on her honeymoon in 1947, her christmas broadcast always have a theme, and it's not surprising that this year when she lost her husband of 73 years that prince philip was the thread running through the broadcast. many people saying very poignant and very personal because the queen is not someone who tends to wear her heart on her sleeve and talk with such affection so publicly so i think that made it different and it's not surprising after the year she's had. looking back at prince philip's death but also i think she looked forward to 2022. it is a big, historic year. in february she will be the first british monarch ever to have achieved 70 years on the throne, her platinum jubilee, and that's what 2022 is going to be about. she talked about the commonwealth baton relay, the commonwealth baton relay, the commonwealth baton relay, the commonwealth games injuly next year will be one of the highlights of the platinum jubilee and she talked in her speech about the fact she wanted it to be a time of togetherness, for people to come together, which they have done for the golden jubilee, silver and diamond jubilee. done for the golden jubilee, silverand diamond jubilee. i silver and diamond jubilee. i think silverand diamond jubilee. i think people hope on thatjune weekend they will be able to do so, pandemic allowing former for the platinumjubilee. so, pandemic allowing former for the platinum jubilee. what more can you _ for the platinum jubilee. what more can you tell— for the platinum jubilee. what more can you tell us _ for the platinum jubilee. what more can you tell us about. for the platinum jubilee. what | more can you tell us about the security incident?— security incident? that users release this _ security incident? that users release this afternoon - security incident? that users release this afternoon by - release this afternoon by thames valley police will stop at 830 this morning, around two hours after we saw the pictures of prince charles and camilla, duchess of cornwall, walking toward st george's chapel, two hours before those pictures, rather, we know that a teenager armed with what police describe as an offensive weapon was arrested within the grounds of windsor castle. we know that security process were triggered within moments of their men entering the grounds. he did not enter any buildings and the royalfamily were informed. we know this is a 19—year—old from southampton. he is now in custody, arrested on suspicion of breach of trespass of a protected site and possession of an offensive weapon. sarah cambell of an offensive weapon. sarah campbell speaking _ of an offensive weapon. sarah campbell speaking earlier. - the leader of the roman catholic church, pope francis, in his annual christmas day speech, has said the effects of the pandemic threatened efforts to resolve conflicts on an international level. around the world there were smaller crowds at church services and other events because of the coronavirus outbreak. sadat ahmed bakir has this report. mass wearing masks. 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, 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 was born, the numbers were also lower than usual, as israel closed its borders forforeigners in an effort to rein in the infections. the latin patriarch ofjerusalem led prayers at the church of the nativity�*s ancient prayer hall. the leader of the anglican church, the archbishop of canterbury, praised the work of volunteers helping refugees in his christmas sermon. the christmas story shows us how we must treat those who are unlike us, who have far less than us, who have lived with the devastating limits of war and national tragedy. there have been the volunteers who have been on my mind, welcoming and caring for refugees arriving on the beaches so close to this cathedral, and they do one thing — save life at sea. it is not politics. it is simply humanity. this christmas is also the occasion for a special service for the first time in 30 years at srinagar�*s st lu ke's church. the 125—year—old place of worship in the indian administered kashmir was shut down three decades ago when the separatist violence began. christmas gatherings will be easier than a year ago in many other places around the world. for example, most australians are allowed to travel interstate over the festive break for the first time in two years. as sydney's catholic archbishop puts it, christmas was a ray of light in dark times. sadat ahmed bakir, bbc news. the biggest space telescope ever constructed has been launched into orbit. the james webb telescope is on board a european ariane rocket which took off from french guiana. it's the successor to the hubble telescope and designed to beam back unprecedented images of the universe. it's the most powerful ever built and the developers hope it will reveal stars and galaxies from the birth of the universe as well as distant planets which could provide evidence of life beyond earth. 0ur science editor rebecca morelle reports. and we have engine start. and lift—off. the start of a blockbuster astronomy mission. james webb begins a voyage back to the birth of the universe. inside this rocket is the biggest telescope ever sent into space. punching a hole through the clouds. 20 seconds into the flight... this is the james webb space telescope. it's a successor to hubble, but 100 times more powerful. after three decades in the making, and a cost of $10 billion, it's finally on its way. we've never attempted anything like that in space before. we're going to be entering a whole new regime of astrophysics. a new frontier. and that is what gets so many of us excited about james webb space telescope. this space telescope is a feat of engineering. at its heart is a 6.5 metre—wide mirror, made up of 18 hexagonal segments, each coated in a layer of gold. its size means it can detect the incredibly faint light coming from the most distant stars. it also has a huge sun shield, about the size of a tennis court. it's made up of five layers, each as thin as a human hair, and this protects the telescope from the heat and light of the sun. sitting a million miles away from the earth, the telescope will give us our deepest ever view of the cosmos. from seeing the birth of the very first stars and galaxies, to revealing new planets in far—flung solar systems. what excites me is making discoveries, things we haven't thought about. and there's a whole history of astronomy that shows how, when we've looked at the universe in a new way, we discover things we hadn't thought about. and there's something really exciting about doing that. to get into space, the telescope is so big, it's been folded up to fit inside the rocket. the most challenging part is getting it to unfurl. it's been practised here on earth, and that's hard enough. there are 300 points where it could go wrong, but if anything fails in space, the telescope is too far away to be fixed. separation, webb space telescope. go, webb! applause. this is the most ambitious space telescope ever built. now its mission has finally begun and our view of the universe is about to be transformed. rebecca morelle, bbc news. and the author and astronomer tom kerss has been explaining the significance of the significance of the telescope and its expensive price tag.. it started way back in the 90s, it started way back in the 90s, i have been following this mission my entire professional life and as a student. it has taken a long time to get here. it is a red letter day for astronomy. yes, it is expensive but it's a highly capable platform for astronomy and it will provide as much as ten years of absolutely cutting edge astronomical observations. when you look at for example the success of something like hubble than the price tag seems a bit more reasonable. these things are worth paying for because they make a tremendous contribution to the scientific community. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... residents on the spanish island of la palma, breathe a sigh of relief as the volcanic eruption finally comes to an end after three months. this is bbc news, the latest headlines. queen elizabeth speaks about her grief over the death of her husband, prince philip, in her christmas day message. the pope uses his christmas message to highlight the tragedies in yemen and syria, which he says are being passed over in silence. the international charity save the children says at least 38 people, including women and children, have been killed in an attack by the burmese military. the charity says the military had reportedly forced people from their cars, arrested some, killed others and burnt their bodies. charred remains were found in a number of burnt—out vehicles in the south—eastern kayah state on friday. save the children says two of its humanitarian staff are also missing and has condemned the attack. spanish officials say the volcanic eruption in the canary islands has finally come to an end after three months. no one was injured during the 85 day ordeal on the island of la palma. but the volcano destroyed properties and submerged hundreds of hectares of land, as jack surfleet reports. it was the first eruption on la palma since 1971. and the volcano burst into action on the 19th of september. flowing down the mountain, through villages and spanning up to 600 metres wide. in its path were 1300 homes, churches and schools, all of which were destroyed. rescue teams helped to relocate more than 7,000 people from their homes. many have lost almost everything they own. an exclusion zone was set up around the flow, including in the sea, where the molten rock boiled sea water, released poisonous gases and increased the size of the island. there'd been no earth tremors since the 13th of december. the longest period without any activity since the eruption began. but authorities were wary of false hope and held off until christmas day to give the message that many had been so desperate for. translation: what i want to say today can be said - with just four words. the eruption is over. it is an emotional relief, but i think we can add one more word to the message. the word hope. because we can now focus all of our energy and all of our energy on the reconstruction of the island. the prime minister pedro sanchez described it as the best christmas present. his government has pledged over 200 million euros to help people living on the island to piece together their homes and their livelihoods after the longest ever eruption on record. let's get some of the day's other news. officials in the democratic republic of congo say at least six people have been killed by a suicide bomb attack in the eastern city of beni. the mayor, narcisse muteba, said the bomber had killed himself and five other people. it isn't clear whether any group was behind the attack but security forces are investigating. security forces in the sudanese capital, khartoum, have fired tear gas in an effort to disperse the latest pro—democracy protests. the demonstrators converged on the presidential palace for the second time in a week, but were met by a heavy security presence. earlier the military government restricted phone and internet services and blocked roads leading to the city. volunteers have spent the day working at vaccination centres across england as the push continues to give every adult a booster by the end of the month. the nhs says it expects thousands of people will have received theirjab on christmas day. vaccination centres have been closed in northern ireland, scotland and wales. as ministers consider whether tougher restricions are needed in england — the roman catholic archbishop, cardinal vincent nichols, has urged them not to close places of worship. emily unia reports. redbridge town hall in east london is one of a small number of vaccination centres in england that opened this morning, on christmas day, to help bolster the booster programme. fantastic idea, to come to save so many lives. myjob, i'm in contact with customers all the time, so, you know, i've got to keep myself safe, keep my customers safe. the crux of it is, it's family time, it's time that you want to spend with your loved ones. and it's often times like that, that we get to think through the real priorities. and the real priorities are, you want to protect yourself and you want to protect your loved ones. the government's aim was to offer all adults a booster by the end of the year. that is to tackle the spread of the omicron variant. this pharmacy has been open since i'd got this morning. they have about 80 pre—booked vaccinations but there is capacity for another 400 people to walk in and getjabbed. for opening at christmas. i'm very close to the owners of the shop. the original owner, nilesh patel, he actually passed away from covid in january this year. it was a horrible experience for his family. they have been working very hard, as have i, to make sure no one else goes the same thing they have. no one else goes the same thing they have-— they have. the new variant appears — they have. the new variant appears to _ they have. the new variant appears to cause _ they have. the new variant appears to cause milder. appears to cause milder illness, which health officials have described as a glimmer of hope. it is still spreading fast, prompting scotland, wales and northern ireland to introduce new restrictions. in his christmas message, the head of the catholic church in england called on the government to keep places of worship open. i think we are at the point of saying we understand the risks, we know what we should do, most people are sensible and cautious. we don't need stronger impositions to teach us what to do. we know. new restrictions for england, known as a step to mecca, could see pubs and restaurants serving customers outdoors only, and a ban on different households mixing indoors was not a decision on whether to bring england in line with other uk nations could be taken early next week. emily unia, bbc news. france has broken it's daily record for covid infections. it's recorded more than 100,000 covid infections in the space in the space of 24 hours. the health authorities there say an additional 104,611 people have contracted covid—19 — with the spiralling number being driven by the omicron variant. it's been a chaotic christmas for thousands of people trying to catch flights home in the us — as surging covid cases have side—lined pilots and other crew members leaving people stranded at airports. christmas eve saw around 690 flights cancelled, leaving some travellers with no choice but to spend the night in a departure lounge. almost 900 domestic and internationalflights in and out of the country have been cancelled today. and there've also been around 800 delayed christmas day flights. most of the affected airlines have attributed the disruption to the growing number of 0micron cases in the united states, which make up for nearly three—quarters of the country's coronavirus cases. president biden has commended americans for their strength in the face of the covid—19 pandemic, urging "hope and renewal" during the holiday season. in his first christmas address as president, mr biden praised "the enormous courage, character, resilience, and resolve " of those who serve "in ways big and small." the message comes as the us continues to be rocked by deep political divisions and record inflation. for millions of people around the world, christmas day has drawn to a close. but for millions more there are still a few hours left to enjoy. it's been another difficult festive season as the 0micron variant of coronavirus spreads but people still found time to celebrate. the bbc�*s tim allman reports. sometimes you just have to make the best of things. here in northern romania, father christmas and a troop of carol singers were doing the rounds, bringing a little festive cheer and an awful lot of sugar. translation: h0 and an awful lot of sugar. translation:— and an awful lot of sugar. translation: ., ., ., ., translation: ho ho ho, we have civen out translation: ho ho ho, we have given out more — translation: ho ho ho, we have given out more than _ translation: ho ho ho, we have given out more than 5000 - given out more than 5000 chocolates, cakes, thousands of candles, waffles and greetings for every home.— for every home. people celebrate _ for every home. people celebrate in _ for every home. people celebrate in a _ for every home. people celebrate in a variety i for every home. people celebrate in a variety of different ways. in bournemouth, for instance, they ran into the sea, despite the far from ideal temperatures. a certain dash of masochism, perhaps, but some altruism as well. it was all in aid of a local charity. more christmas compassion in rome. the church of santa maria laying on its traditional annual lunch for the poor and needy. a generosity of spirit perhaps needed now more than ever. translation:— ever. translation: fighting to . ether ever. translation: fighting together against _ ever. translation: fighting together against difficulties l together against difficulties and accepting that hope is also fragile, like a child. it needs to be cared for, protected and nourished. that's how we do it, with friendship, the strength of sympathy. with friendship, the strength of sympathy-— with friendship, the strength of sympathy. merry christmas. ha - of sympathy. merry christmas. happy holidays. _ of sympathy. merry christmas. happy holidays. happy - of sympathy. merry christmas. happy holidays, happy new - of sympathy. merry christmas. i happy holidays, happy new year, from _ happy holidays, happy new year, from all_ happy holidays, happy new year, from all of expedition 66. and christmas _ from all of expedition 66. and christmas wishes _ from all of expedition 66. fific christmas wishes from 400 kilometres above the earth. the crew of the international space station, most wearing festive hats, where the celebrating the holidays as best they could in zero gravity amongst their number, father christmas riding what appears to be a turtle. he certainly gets about. tim allman, bbc news. and before we go, here in the uk, it's officially a white christmas! for a few people at least. reports of snow have been confirmed in the yorkshire dales in england, and in parts of scotland — including here in the village of insh in the highlands. there was even evidence that santa paws had visited the village of torphins, in aberdeenshire, as you can see here! cricket — and the boxing day test is underway in melbourne. england are hoping to turn round theirfortunes — they're already 2—0 down in the ashes against australia. but they haven't made a good start. put into bat after losing the toss — they lost opener haseeb hameed went in the second over a few months ago. they are currently 7—1. stay with me on bbc news. hello, there, and a very merry christmas to you. we have seen a band of rain and hill snow working its way northwards across the country to end christmas day and into the early hours of boxing day. most of the rain and hill snow will become confined to the north of the country, certainly across scotland through the day, and then we will see something a bit brighter with some showers following in across the south. this weather front has continued to journey northwards. as it bumped into the cold air which has been sitting across the north and east of the country, that is where we have seen the rain turn to snow initially, across the hills of north wales, north midlands and also northern ireland, but very much so across the pennines and in towards central and southern scotland, some drifting with strong wind as we head through the course of boxing day morning. into the afternoon, the rain and hill snow becomes confined to the hills of scotland. something a bit drier in the south, a legacy of cloud, mind you. some brightness for northern ireland, wales and the south—west. winds light here but still strong and gusty further north, close to the weather front. again, another cold day across northern areas, particularly with any lying snow over the hills. something much milder in the south and south—west. as we move out of boxing day, that weather front to the north begins to fizzle out, taking the rain and hill snow when it. hill snow with it. elsewhere, lots of dry weather, lighter winds, clear spells, a recipe for mist and fog. furthersouth, into the south—west, a new weather front working its way in. milder, wetter and windy weather arriving here. a cold night to come across the north. here it is, the new area of low pressure, a weather front swiping the south—west and the south of the country as we move through the day. most of the impact will be felt across france but we will still have enough wind and rain for it to be noticeable. initially, south wales and south—west england, pushing into the midlands and across to the south—east through the day. turning mild and windy with it. further north, not a bad day, particularly across scotland and northern england. it will be chilly but bright with plenty of sunshine. temperatures are struggling to get much above six or seven. again, double figures across the south. the mild air really wins out as we move through the new week and in the run—up to new year. it could turn very mild for a time with winds coming up from the south or south—west. but low pressure will always be nearby and in fact, it will be quite wet and windy at times. it could become balmy for a while across southern areas, even into the first part of january. this is bbc news, the headlines the queen has used her christmas day message to pay with more than 120,000 new infections. european countries reported record numbers of cases with the increase in spain introducing mandatory face coverings outdoors. but omicron appears to resulted in less serious illnesses than delta. millions are the rolled travel disruption of her christmas as the search in the varied cases see 2000 flights cancelled due to staff shortages. united airlines says it is contacted impacted passengers before they arrived in the airport. china and the us are the worst affected. just celebrations have taken place, including an annual procession led by the head of the roman catholic church in the region.