at six — an extraordinary escape for the passengers and crew on board this plane in japan. it burst into flames after a collision with a small plane as it came into land in tokyo — five on board that aircraft were killed. it comes just a day after a devastating earthquake injapan — that's killed dozens of people. storm henk sweeps in across the south of the uk, bringing wind gusts of more than 80 miles an hour, flooding and yet more travel problems. and britain's luke �*the nuke�* littler — just 16 years old — hoping to make history tonight by bagging a place in the pdc world darts championship in london. on bbc london: as the met investigates the fatal and coming up on bbc news... it was one of the shortest managerial spells in football history — wayne rooney is sacked by birmingham after two wins from his 15 games in charge.

good evening. all of the 379 passengers and crew on board ajapan airlines plane had a miraculous escape when it became engulfed in flames after a collision with a smaller coastguard aircraft as it came in to land in tokyo. when you see these images it is extraordinary to think all on board got out. but five of the six people on board the other plane were killed. they had been preparing to deliver aid to people affected by the powerful earthquake injapan the day before. from tokyo — suranjana tewari reports. the moment a japan airlines passenger plane skids down the tarmac at tokyo's haneda airport, after a collision with a smaller plane operated by japan's coastguard. chaos and confusion follows, as smoke can be seen

billowing from an engine. amateur video from inside the cabin shows passengers looking on in panic. more than 370 passengers and crew managed to escape unharmed. on—board safety procedures appear to have worked. the plane had taken off from sapporo on hokkaido island in northern japan. the coastguard says its plane was travelling to ishikawa prefecture, the epicentre of a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck just over 2a hours earlier. it was going to deliver food and help with rescue operations. what first seemed to be a small blaze on the passenger plane quickly took hold

and overwhelmed the aircraft. translation: i could only see the fire in the engine. - after we calmly got off the plane and went to a place far from the aircraft, i saw that the fire had spread in only about 10, 15 minutes. translation: i can only say it was a miracle. - we could have died if we didn't evacuate at that point. given the size of the japan airlines plane and the number of passengers and crew on board, it's really miraculous that so many managed to escape unharmed, on that plane at least. we now understand that on the plane operated by the coastguard, five people have died who were on that plane, with one person managing to escape. japan is known for its incredibly strong transport safety record. translation: we will work with the transport ministry. to determine the cause of the accident. the scene needs to be

preserved for that, but we'll try to get airport operations going as quickly as possible. it's not clear what caused the collision, but authorities are likely to take the investigation seriously and work to improve procedures. suranjana is at the scene tonight. that investigation getting under way. what more we learning what happened today? it way. what more we learning what happened today?— way. what more we learning what happened today? it is still unclear what caused _ happened today? it is still unclear what caused that collusion - what caused that collusion between the japan airlines passenger plane and the coastguard aircraft. some services have resumed at haneda airport, tokyo's busiest airport now. lots of flights were cancelled because of the disruption caused and it was after midnight that the flames were finally doused by firefighting crews. as we heard there will be an investigation into what happened, but the prime

minister is very keen that the earthquake supplies continue to go to the zones that are affected and that people there continue to get supplies, much—needed supplies after that devastating earthquake. thank ou ve that devastating earthquake. thank you very much- _ well, the people on board the coastguard plane were on their way to the west coast of japan with aid for those affected by the powerful earthquake on new year's day. at least 48 people are now known to have died in the 7.6 magnitude quake that hit the region of noto. tremors were felt hundreds of miles away in the capital, tokyo. japan's prime minister says it is now a race against time to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble, as our correspondent jean mckenzie reports. sirens this is a race for survival. rescue workers stream throuthapan�*s isolated noto peninsula, the roads blocking their way.

the roads blocking their way. they're trying to reach these worst—affected areas in the north — where people are trapped under their collapsed homes. many families were out at temples, celebrating new year's day, whenjapan was hit by its strongest earthquake in 12 years. nomura—san thought his shrine was going to collapse. "the whole gate was swaying. the alleyway was swaying, too. the children had to squat on the floor so as not to fall over," he told me. alerts chime as we travel towards the epicentre, we're alerted to another earthquake. these aftershocks keep coming. further in, old wooden homes have been brought to the ground — not made to withstand the ferocity ofjapan�*s enduring quakes.

toshio iwahama lives here alone after losing his wife. at 82, he doesn't know how he'll manage the repairs. translation: we always have earthquakes around here. - but i just didn't think we'd get a big one like this. i didn't take it seriously. i thought we were safe here. this is only the tip of the destruction. we are trying to get closer to the epicentre, to a city where we know that at least a dozen people have died and many more are trapped in their homes that have collapsed. but we are struggling because, if you look at this road here, it is completely ruptured. and this is what we keep coming up against — these roads that are totally blocked off and even these emergency services here, these rescue teams, have been struggling to reach people in these worst—affected areas. so we are still trying to piece together the extent of the damage, and how many people have been killed and injured.

some firefighters have managed to get into the wrecked city of wajima, and are searching for survivors. but the death toll is expected to rise. the people here have lived through many an earthquake, but never felt tremors of this magnitude — which have shaken both their surroundings and their sense of safety. jean mackenzie, bbc news, in noto peninsula, injapan. high winds and heavy rain are battering parts of england and wales, as storm henk sweeps in. at exeter airport in devon — wind gusts of 80 miles an hour were recorded — the strongest for more than 30 years. rail services are being badly affected by flooding and fallen trees. the environment agency has issued more than 300 flood alerts and a met office weather warning has been in place across some southern parts of the uk. our correspondent ellie price has the latest. when weather alerts are issued warning of a risk to life, this is what they mean.

we just happened to be driving along the a22 in east sussex when we came across it. a tree on the edge of the ashdown forest, blown over and into the road, and on to two passing cars. driving along, got halfway along to here. and as we passed, that tree fell completely across the pair of us. damaged the van severely the other van. i managed to avoid most of it. itjust took my bumper off and my light out. shook me up really bad. i ran over to see if i could help, but they were trapped in there. two people were taken to hospital, but weren't seriously injured. several major roads have been closed through fallen trees and floodwaters. this is what it looked like from the air in east yorkshire. storm henk caused problems on the railways, and the platforms too. this, the station in okehampton. the met office also warned there was a good chance of power cuts, which could impact mobile phone coverage. the national grid were on the case in llanddewi, in wales. it's mid—afternoon now. the rain here has stopped,

but it certainly still very windy. there have been more than 140 flood warnings across the uk, from wales to east anglia, as far north as hull, and down south, here in east sussex. serena lives in hellingly, and isn't usually able to go rowing on her back garden. this is your garden. you don't have a water feature? no, this is normally pasture. i know this area historically floods, but i have seen in the last three years that i've been here it getting worse and worse. and something needs to be done. everyone needs to come together to mitigate against the climate breakdown. storm henk should ease by tonight. but the rain waters and the advice to take care may last a little longer. ellie price, bbc news, in east sussex. hamas says its deputy political leader has been killed by a strike in the lebanese capital, beirut. hamas is designated a terrorist organisation by the uk government. let's get more on this from our correspondent shaimaa khalil, who's in jersusalem.

what more can you tell us? we did aet what more can you tell us? we did get confirmation _ what more can you tell us? we did get confirmation from _ what more can you tell us? we did get confirmation from hamas - what more can you tell us? we did i get confirmation from hamas that the deputy chairman of their politburo saleh al—arouri was killed in a blast in the dahiyeh neighbourhood in beirut the lebanese capital. this area is known as a hezbollah stronghold and they aren't as mike a very close ties. we also know from local media, they have described this as an israeli drone attack on the hamas office. we reached out to the hamas office. we reached out to the idf, the israeli military, who said they will not comment on reports by foreign media. a couple of reactions i want to bring you, one from the lebanese prime minister, the caretaker prime minister, the caretaker prime minister, describing the blast as he put it, a new israeli war crime aiming to drag lebanon into a new phase of the conflict. we also just heard from mark gregor of the israeli prime minister adviser

speaking to msnbc the american network saying israel has not taken responsibility for this attack and whoever did it it must be clear this is not an attack on state, it is a targeted attack on hamas leadership. it is worth noting that saleh al—arouri is one of the most senior hamas officials, deeply involved in the group's military structure, involved in the making really a very military wing. it is notjust about who was killed but also where he was killed, in a hezbollah stronghold. thank you. a 23—year—old woman who ran over and killed herfiance after a row at a party has been found guilty of his murder. alice wood had claimed that ryan watson's death was a tragic accident. but the jury heard that in may 2022, she drove at him three times, dragging him under the car. the judge at chester crown court told her she may never be released from prison. helena wilkinson has the story — you may find some of her report upsetting.

right, ok. so, alice, based on the circumstances that we found out already, ok, i'm going to arrest you... this is the moment alice wood was arrested on suspicion of murdering herfiance, ryan watson. it was a brutal and horrific attack. ryan was 24. he'd just started working at a charity. helping others is what he loved to do. on the night ryan was killed, they'd gone to a party together. they were enjoying themselves, but a row followed. they'd both been drinking alcohol, and argued over who would drive home. wood ended up taking them. when they got back, wood got into her car. the red marker shows ryan, and wood deliberately reversing into him. shejust misses him. seconds later, she then drives at her fiance again, knocking him onto the car bonnet. he manages to walk away, but in footage shown to the jury,

she hits him a third time, dragging him along the road under the car. it's been so hard to watch the cctv footage of our son. we can't imagine how ryan was scared at that time. the one person ryan trusts the most was the person who took his life in such a violent way. i am living in a nightmare, knowing that my son's moments, his last moments, were so brutal. after being found guilty of murder today, the judge told wood she may never be released from prison. she will be sentenced later this month. helena wilkinson, bbc news. the home secretary says the government has "done what it promised" and dealt with a backlog of older asylum cases. james cleverly said "every single one" of the backlog applications had been processed, although there are around a500 "complex" cases still being looked at. labour has accused ministers

of manipulating the figures. here's our home editor, mark easton. a pledge delivered or a promise broken? well, this what the prime minister claimed on social media today — asylum backlog cleared. it'sjust over a year ago since rishi sunak told parliament he would "abolish" that backlog by the end of 2023 — two days ago. but, did he really manage it? the government says the pm's pledge applies only to what it calls the "legacy backlog" — asylum seekers who were waiting for a decision on their claim for refugee status before june 28th 2022. and that bit of the backlog has fallen significantly — from around 100,000 cases to, well, not zero. 11,500 are still in the system but now reclassified as "complex". and while the focus has been on the legacy bit, another backlog has been growing. new cases in the system now number more than 911,000.

a higher number than the one the pm promised to reduce to zero. so, with thousands of the legacy group still in the system as well as all those new cases, can the government really claim to have abolished the backlog? this is how the home secretaryjames cleverly explains it. they've all been through that processing. dealt with in terms of getting through that, as i say, that adjudicating, initial adjudicating process. that's what we meant by addressing the backlog. we have done that. we've completed that. so a distinction being made between claims processed and claims resolved. and we also know that a third of the legacy backlog asylum applications processed were neither accepted nor rejected. 35,000 were withdrawn or voided — often because the home office had lost contact with the claimant. the labour party says the government is massaging the numbers. rishi sunak's claim to havej cleared the asylum backlog

isjust totally false. in fact, the figures are nearly - 100,000 cases and they haven't even fully cleared the bit of the backlog they were targeting. _ the government has significantly improved the efficiency of the asylum system, many more decisions made each month, and it claims its policies have helped reduce small boat arrivals by a third year on year. but with an election likely later this year, the verdict on rishi sunak�*s immigration record will be delivered at the ballot box. our political correspondent damian grammaticas is here. this is something we're going hear more about over the coming months, isn't it? it is for that election is just over 12 months but nobody thinks rishi sunak will go beyond christmas coming so it will be before then. he is in a very difficult position because on one side the polls suggest labour with a healthy lead, to his right, to what used to be the

brexit party, the reform party trying to siphon away votes, and the way he is trying to revive his party because �*s electoral fortunes is to identify issues and this is one he has made central, immigration, asylum, stop the boats, that promise, that priority he said. he hasn't stopped the boats, they are still coming, down quite a bit last year but still the second—highest year but still the second—highest year on record, but by pointing to this bit of the figures, the government thinks it can show it is making progress. more caseworkers, more cases dealt with, if labour as you are hearing saying that is just taking the public for fools, there is still a backlog, the total number of asylum cases are still around 100,000, but then it is an issue with delivery and the government not delivering, but this will be something portable a lot as we get nearer the election.— the time is 6:19. our top story this evening... five people are killed but hundreds of others make an extraordinary escape as an airliner and a coastguard plane collide in japan. and still to come —

the triumphant return of tennis star emma raducanu, after eight months out through injury. and coming up on bbc news... already £100,000 richer, 16—year—old luke littler aims for an even more bigger prize tonight at alexandra palace — a place in the final of the world darts championship. this is a pliosaur, a massive sea monster that terrorised the oceans millions of year ago — one of the most fearsome predators that ever lived. this computer—generated image shows you what it would have looked like. its huge skull was discovered recently off dorset�*s jurassic coast and today it went on public display for the first time. our science editor, rebecca morelle, reports. coming face to face with a jurassic sea monster. a colossal fossil is unveiled to

the public for the very first time. this is a skull of a pliosaur, one of the most fearsome predators the planet has ever seen. i think the fossil�*s incredible. i think it would have been very terrifying, eating a lot of predators. it has big teeth. it's remarkably well preserved and the specimen is almost complete. this is exemplary. this is the best you'll ever see, i think. i can categorically say that. it was the top of the food chain, there's nothing bigger than this. so, it fed on everything. it fed on its own kind. it fed on... anything it could get its teeth into, it'd feed on. this gigantic reptile lived 150 million years ago. it would have terrorised the oceans, devouring passing prey with a single bite. the fossil was found halfway down a cliff face in dorset�*s kimmeridge bay.

it took a team dangling off ropes to extract it from the crumbling clay. over the next ten months, layer upon layer of rock was painstakingly removed until the pliosaur emerged. researchers think it's a species that's new to science. i think that this is, in fact, a young adult or a not fully grown pliosaur. there are certain features on the skull which suggest that. for example, some of the bone fusions are not quite complete, which is a feature of young specimens. i mean, this is a hugely important specimen because of its beautiful preservation and the fact that it's been prepared in such a way so that you can see all the important features. there's no doubt this huge skull is impressive, but where's the rest of it? come and have a look in here. inside this drawer is a tantalising glimpse of what's left to find of the pliosaur�*s body.

we've got a few neck vertebra, a shoulder bone, and the team is certain that the rest of the plesiosaur is still in the cliffs, and they want to get it out. now, the skull is two metres long, so there's another eight metres left to extract. so, there may be more of this beast to come. but if it is recovered, the museum may need to build a new extension to fit it all in. rebecca morelle, bbc news. junior doctors in england go on strike from 7am tomorrow for six days in what could be one of the longest walkouts in the nhs's history. the stoppage is part of their long running dispute over pay. hospital authorities say the industrial action will have a significant impact on routine care and comes at a time when services are already stretched. a 16—year—old boy who was arrested after a teenager was stabbed to death on new year's eve has been released on bail. harry pitman, who was also 16, was attacked after what police described as an altercation as he waited to watch fireworks near the primrose hill viewing platform in north london. police are continuing

to appeal for information. the new head of the school inspectorate in england, ofsted, says school inspectors are to receive mental health training before routine inspections resume later injanuary. it comes after a coroner warned of further risk to life, after finding an inspection contributed to the death of the primary headteacher ruth perry who took her own life. mrs perry's family have called for more radical root and branch reform. in his first interview the new chief inspector sir martyn oliver said he would listen to criticism. our education editor branwen jeffreys reports. hisjob matters for children and parents. the new boss of ofsted will oversee inspections, including schools. schools facing the challenges left by the covid lockdowns. it's a difficultjob ofsted has to do, because ultimately we also have to be about high standards. but i think we can do that in a way which is far more empathetic. an ofsted inspection at this primary contributed to the suicide

of head teacher ruth perry. the coroner has warned more lives are at risk without changes. i'm determined that we shall learn those lessons. do you think the tone of ofsted's response to ruth perry's death was correct? well, i don't think it went far enough, and i'm quite clear on that. there's clearly been been a lot of criticism, and we must accept that criticism in order to have a fresh start and move on. so, what do you want to do, now that you're taking over ofsted? so, he told me mental—health training for inspectors is a top priority — before any routine inspections restart later in january. but he also wants to listen to parents. at a soft—play centre in huddersfield, a group of mums meet regularly. most use ofsted as part of choosing schools. ofsted is a good thing in that it helps people give a measure of a school, it helps find out problems with a school. my opinion's probably changed...

yeah. ..because i think, at the end of the day, the school experience is based on the teachers and the other pupils, rather than any reports or any outcomes. today, head teachers�* unions welcomed the more open tone from ofsted, but said ministers should scrap one— or two—word judgements of schools. a single—word judgement can be applied to two schools in very, very different positions — so they don't really work, so we're going to have to modify that. but the government uses those single—word judgements right now to determine whether it should intervene in schools or not. so we would have to find another way, but i'm sure we can do that. ofsted needs to rebuild trust with schools and headteachers, and some of its credibility. and that's important, because parents rely on ofsted. he's got a tough reputation, but some change can only be made by government. branwen jeffreys, bbc news.

wayne rooney has been sacked as the manager of birmingham city, afterjust 15 games in charge. the football club is currently languishing towards the bottom of the championship table. the former england captain says he now plans to take a break from the game. in tennis, britain's emma raducanu has won on her return to the game, after eight months out with injury. the former us open champion, who's on the comeback trail following surgery on both hands, and her left ankle, won herfirst round match at the auckland classic. katie gornall was watching. announcer: emma raducanu! it's been 259 days since emma raducanu last walked out to play a competitive match. for her, this felt like a fresh start. the past eight months have been tough for the former us open champion. three surgeries on both her wrists and ankle left her needing a wheelchair. as she recovered, her ranking tumbled to 301 in the world.

so how would she hold up in auckland? well, the early signs were encouraging against romania's elena—gabriela ruse — she took the first set 6—3. ruse would fight back to level the match, but raducanu showed grit, grace and glimpses of her best. oh, yes! how about that from raducanu? the 21—year—old claimed to feel reborn coming into this match — free from the burden of her us open win. still, there was understandably some rustiness. two match points came and went before she finally clinched it. she's back! the tougher test of second seed elina svitolina awaits, but first, raducanu will want to savour this. that winning feeling has been a long time coming. katie gornall, bbc news. a huge night ahead for 16—year—old luke littler as he attempts to make history in the semi final at the pdc world darts championship in london. he's already the youngest player to win a match in the tourmament. tonight he's taking on the 2018 champion at alexandra palace. could he go all the way and lift the trophy?

joe wilson reports. still amazed by his age? yep, luke littler is still 16. well, be stunned by how he plays — just how easy he makes it look. littler�*s overwhelmed every opponent to reach the semifinals. as soon as he could stand, he could throw. there are clues to his success in the family footage of littler when he was much littler. it all started at home. it was just me dad. he always played in the house. he never played in a pub league or owt. so i wasjust looking up to him. and then when we went to some shop, ijust pointed out the magnetic dartboard, because they looked similar. and then, yeah, the rest is history. a big part of the story is a shop in st helens and a darts academy where luke littler turned up and immediately turned heads. within a year, before he was 11, he was playing in the under—215, which is pretty... he's the only player that's ever done that, he's that good. the academy�*s been almost overwhelmed by fresh interest

since luke littler started winning at the world championship. these players often practice with him. mesmerising because it's like, "oh my god, i know him." and i didn't know he could do such big things when he was at the academy. i thought he was just a normal kid who played darts. but now i see him in the world championships. when he gets to the oche, and he doesn't feel anything when he's playing someone who he knows or a complete stranger, he just gets on with his game. it is possible to win the world title on your debut. rob cross did it in 2018. he plays littler tonight. double four for a semifinal spot. all this is new to luke, but that's fine. after all, what is experience but learning how to lose? and that lesson remains untaught. joe wilson, bbc news. good luck to him, we will let you know how he does at ten o'clock. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett.

two elements of the weather, wind and rain. the rain has been covering england and wales and we have seen in a row flood warnings on rivers rapidly rising today. a short time ago there were over 200 flood warnings in england alone, particularly over the fast flowing rivers in the midlands, fed by all of the heavy rain we have had in wales earlier on. the other element, the strength of the wind, this has been focused in this area of the amber wind warning from the met office. we have already seen gusts of 69 mph recently at heathrow airport. the strongest wind for the next hour or so it will be in eastern areas, because the storm itself is going to be moving away. the warning expires 8pm. the wind will ease, the heavy rain we have in the midlands, that gets pulled away towards the north—east of scotland and things will calm down a bit over night. clearer spells, some showers, temperatures dropping to five or 6 degrees. tomorrow, not as windy, not as wet. still have some rain in the north—east of scotland, may be some

sleet and snow as well. showers