the moment, it seems to me. we can't enjoy our variety. you have to be this or that. i think the gospel suggests this and that, they are both god—given. we can do this together. the story of a child refugee born in perilous circumstances is not the image depicted on most christmas cards. and yet, as the dean of this historic abbey makes clear, redemption and reconciliation are possible, though the task ahead is a challenging one. martin bashir, bbc news. the australian prime minister scott morrison has praised his country's firefighters in his christmas message. hundreds of firefighters, many of them volunteers, have been battling bush fires in new south wales which began in september. the public too have been showing their gratitude to the fire service, as shiamaa khalil reports from australia. taking a brief christmas break before heading back

to the fire front lines. many of these firefighters have been working nonstop for weeks. despite a lull in the weather, with cooling temperatures and predicted rain in some areas, the risk is not over. teams brace themselves for hot conditions later in the week. the new south wales rural fire service is the world's largest volunteer organisation, with more than 70,000 members. most are local volunteers who have taken on the task to project the rural communities. and many have been overwhelmed by how people responded to their work. just overwhelming support, like. 0bviously all the presents and stuff for the kids. that's just what they need at the moment. i haven't even gone christmas shopping or anything for my daughter. she's about to turn one in january, on the 11th. just thank you, thank you very much. last week's catastrophic fires have been fuelled by record temperatures

of more than 41 degrees. an extreme heat wave swept across the country, combined with strong winds and dry conditions. australia has been fighting wildfires for months. the early start to the fire season is stretching already scarce water resources. pictures of a thunderstorm in the north—eastern city of brisbane showed some respite in the hot weather. but firefighters say a lot more rain is needed in many more places, with not much forecast over the next few weeks. shiamaa khalil, bbc news, in sydney. the headlines on bbc news. the queen has delivered her annual christmas message, highlighting the need for reconciliation in what's being seen as a nod to the divisions caused by brexit. the spanish resort where a british man and this two children were found dead in a swimming pool say

there were "no concerns relating to the pool or procedures in place." in the vatican, pope francis says "god loves everyone, "even the worst of us", thought to be a reference to abuse scandals in the catholic church. now on bbc news, another chance to hear her majesty the queen's christmas message. music: god save the queen

as a child, i never imagined that one day a man would walk on the moon. yet this year, we marked the 50th anniversary of the famous apollo 11 mission. it's still looking very good. your go. the eagle has landed. as those historic pictures were beamed back to earth, millions of us sat transfixed to our television screens as we watched neil armstrong taking a small step for man and a giant leap for mankind, and indeed for womankind. it's a reminder for us all

that giant leaps often start with small steps. this year, we marked another important anniversary, d—day. on 6th june 1944, some 156,000 british, canadian and american forces landed in northern france. it was the largest ever seaborne invasion and was delayed due to bad weather. i well remember the look of concern on my father's face. he knew the secret d—day plans, but could of course share that burden with no one. for the 75th anniversary of that decisive battle, in a true spirit of reconciliation, those who had formerly been sworn enemies came together in friendly commemorations either side of the channel, putting past differences behind them. such reconciliation seldom happens overnight.

it takes patience and time to rebuild trust, and progress often comes through small steps. since the end of the second world war, many charities, groups and organisations have worked to promote peace and unity around the world, bringing together those who have been on opposing sides. by being willing to put past differences behind us and move forward together, we honour the freedom and democracy once won for us at so great a cost. the challenges many people face today may be different to those once faced by my generation, but i have been struck by how new generations have brought a similar sense of purpose to issues such as protecting our environment and our climate. my family and i are also inspired by the men and women of our

emergency services and armed forces, and at christmas we remember all those on duty at home and abroad who are helping those in need and keeping us and ourfamilies safe and secure. 200 years on from the birth of my great—great—grandmother queen victoria, prince philip and i have been delighted to welcome our eighth great—grandchild into our family. of course, at the heart of the christmas story lies the birth of a child, a seemingly small and insignificant step overlooked by many in bethlehem. but in time, through his teaching and by his example, jesus christ would show the world how small steps, taken in faith and in hope, can overcome long—held differences and deep—seated divisions to bring harmony and understanding. many of us already try

to follow in his footsteps. the path, of course, is not always smooth, and may at times this year have felt quite bumpy. but small steps can make a world of difference. as christmas dawned, church congregations around the world joined in singing it came upon the midnight clear. like many timeless carols, it speaks not just of the coming ofjesus christ into a divided world many years ago, but also of the relevance even today of the angels' message of peace and goodwill. it's a timely reminder of what positive things can be achieved when people set aside past differences and come together in the spirit of friendship and reconciliation. and as we all look forward to the start of a new decade, it's worth remembering

that it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change. and so i wish you all a very happy christmas. # it came upon the midnight clear # that glorious song of old # from angels bending near the earth # to touch their harps of gold # peace on the earth, goodwill to men # from heaven's all—gracious king # the world in solemn stillness lay # to hear the angels sing

# for lo the days are hastening on # by prophet bards foretold # when with the ever—circling years # shall come the age of gold # when peace shall over all the earth # its ancient splendours fling # and the whole world give back the song # which now the angels sing. #

hello, there. the weather's gift to us this christmas was a mainly fine and dry christmas day, with blue skies overhead. however, it is not going to last into boxing day. the weather looking quite different, actually, thanks to this frontal system pushing eastwards, bringing rain at times but not all the time. brisk winds as well. you can see quite a few white lines on this chart, quite a few isobars, so it is going to be a fairly windy day, particularly towards the south and the west of the uk. now, this first rain band pushing its way north—eastwards could have some snow mixing in with it across the very highest hills of the pennines, the very highest ground of scotland. as that pushes through, the sunshine will return for some places at times, but there will also be some showers, some of which could be heavy. more persistent rain working back into the south—west later on. milder here, 11 or 12 degrees. still in single figures further north. now, as we go through thursday night, we will see further outbreaks of rain pushing

in from the south—west. staying a little bit drier further east and north, but one thing you will notice, it's going to be much milder as we start friday morning. temperatures of 11 degrees there in belfast, cardiff and plymouth and even further east, seven in aberdeen, seven, there, in norwich. not as chilly as recent nights, because this rain that will have been moving north—eastwards is associated with a warm front. and as the name suggests, the air behind it is warmer, or at least milder, wafting up from the south—west. so we see these outbreaks of rain pushing north—eastwards. behind the rain band, it turns drier and brighter with some spells of sunshine. you can see a bit more wet weatherjust dangling down into western scotland and parts of northern ireland. but those temperatures, 10,11,12,13 degrees, unusually high for this time of year. the weather set—up as we go into saturday is for high pressure to be down to the south—east, keeping things dry for most of us. but frontal systems still trying to squash in from the north—west. so we will see some outbreaks of rain at times, just drifting into parts of northern ireland and northern and western scotland.

but further south and east, it's largely fine. could be some fog through the morning across east anglia and the south—east, but then we see some spells of sunshine and in the sunshine, actually, feeling pretty mild for the time of year, with double digit temperatures for most of us. now, as we move out of saturday into sunday, high pressure will be centred across the near continent. frontal system still running across the north—west. between the two, we'll be squeezing a south—westerly wind in our direction and as you can see from the orange colours on this chart, well, that south—westerly wind will still be pumping this very mild air in ourdirection. a lot of dry weather to be had i think on sunday across england and wales. again, there could be some early fog patches but for northern ireland and scotland, more of a breeze, more cloud, some outbreaks of rain, particularly the further north and west you are. and those temperatures again up to 13 or 14 degrees. monday, a similar day at first glance. rain up to the north—west, drier further south and east. but it looks like this rain band might make a little bit of progress down into england and wales this time, although it's likely to fizzle as it goes. temperature—wise on monday, well, it is still relatively mild.

now, the weather set—up does not change all that much as we head deeper into the week. high pressure still centred down to the south. frontal system still up to the north—west. there may be a spell of very wet and windy weather for a time for the very first part of 2020. we'll have to keep an eye on that. we are likely to see rain at times but much of that up towards the north and the west. not much rain reaching the south—east. so generally speaking, through next week, including the new year period, of course, we'll see wind and rain at times but not all the time. mostly, it will be mild. the driest weather to be found in the south and east but perhaps not quite as bright as it has been during christmas day.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... the queen highlights the need for reconciliation in her annual christmas message, in what's being seen as a nod to the divisions caused by brexit. earlier, the queen led members of the royal family at their traditional christmas day service — including prince george and princess charlotte for the first time — but prince andrew attended a private service. the spanish resort where a british man and his two children were found dead in a swimming pool say there were "no concerns relating to the pool or procedures in place." in the vatican, pope francis says "god loves everyone,