this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:00: the first of six victims in this morning's car crash in birmingham has been named locally as taxi driver, imtiaz mohammed. a british woman, rebecca dykes, who worked at the uk embassy in beirut has been killed. police sources say she was strangled. information from the cia helped russian security services stop a terror attack on a cathedral in st petersburg, the white house confirms. athlete, mo farah, wins this year's bbc sports personality of the year. he says he was surprised at the result. and shortly after 11:30, we'll be looking at tomorrow's front pages in the papers. within the last hour the first of the six victims has

been named locally. police investigators are trying to find out what caused the crash. firefighters have described the scene as challenging and horrific. the immediate aftermath of the crash. debris strewn across four lanes. medics were desperately trying to save lives, but five people were already dead, and a sixth was dying. the rest of the footage is too graphic to show. in daylight, the scale of what happened became clearer. three of the people who died were in this taxi. astonishingly, the man and the woman in the small car crushed between it and the wall walked away with minor injuries. the sound of the crash woke many of the people who live nearby. got out of bed, looked out the window and just saw loads of people running towards where the crash was. and then the police officers telling everyone to get back,

get back, so i guess people were trying to help people. they pulled two people out of the taxi. i didn't realise it was a taxi until today, but they pulled two people out of the taxi, resuscitating them straightaway for about 25 minutes. they took one in the ambulance. i didn't see them take the second one away, so i don't know if they didn't make it, but yes it was havoc. the crash happened on a section of the belgrave middleway, a busy road in the heart of birmingham. the vehicles collided at an entrance to an underpass at the junction of bristol road. police say the dual carriageway will probably stay closed for the rest of the day. investigators will be looking at a number of factors. the road was gritted, but eight hours before the accident. at iam, temperatures were close to freezing. there is no central barrier — did one of thecars cross carriageways? residents say especially when it is late at night and the road is quiet, people will come along

here at excess speeds. it will take some time to unpick the scene and just understand exactly what has happened, and it would be unfairfor me to speculate at this time. what i can say is that we are looking to all sorts of conditions, the road conditions, we are aware of the road was gritted 5pm last night but that is just one factor of many we need to consider. a0 firefighters helped free survivors. five ambulance crews and three paramedics treated the injured at what was described as a complex scene. it quickly became apparent there could not be a lot done to save the lives of some of those patients unfortunately. again, very difficult circumstances, as you have already alluded to, very close to christmas, so our thoughts are with the families and friends of those patients involved. there were a total of 13 casualties, including the six who died, with six vehicles damaged. police described the accident as harrowing. investigations into what caused it are likely to take some time. within the last hour,

the first of the six victims has been named locally. imtiaz mohammed, who had six children, had just called his wife to tell her he was on the way home. described as a hard working family man, he was carrying two passengers at the time of the crash. both also lost their lives. a british embassy worker has been killed in beirut. the body of rebecca dykes was found by the side of a road in the city yesterday. the white house has confirmed that the cia helped russia thwart a bomb attack on a cathedral in saint petersburg. this is the moment security forces raided a flat allegedly used as a base to plan the attack. seven people were held, charged with being members of so—called islamic state. the officers also seized explosives, weapons and propaganda material. i spoke earlier to our correspondent, david willis, in washington.

we have this from the kremlin. no official transcript or briefing from the americans are smartjust acknowledgement that this telephone conversation did take place. vladimir putin basically thanking the american president for the cia tipoff that led to the russian security service for telling what was an attempted or planned bomb attack on a suicide popular iconic cathedral in saint petersburg. very popular amongst tourists, and other sites in that his toric city. they we re sites in that his toric city. they were able to make arrests and to seize weapons and ammunition, apparently. vladimir putin asking donald trump to convey his thanks to

the cia leadership and the officers who ferreted out that information which prevented that attack. we know that traditionally, troubled relationships between russia and the us. why now this warm thanks, assuming as i that some of these tea pots assuming as i that some of these teapots happen regularly? you are absolutely right. it is not surprising that two nations alike these corporate on security matters but it is surprising that there is currently an investigation, a top level investigation under way on the pa rt level investigation under way on the part of a special counsel, robert mueller, into russian meddling in the outcome of last year's presidential election and the special counsel is also looking into allegations that the trump campaign may have colluded with the kremlin

on that front and we have seen donald trump criticise leaders of traditional american allies like britain's theresa may, germany putts mac angela merkel, but as far as vladimir putin is concerned, he has not had a bad word to say and these two men, speaking today for the second time in three days, last week donald trump called vladimir putin to thank him for being so generous in his comments about the state of the us economy. while everybody else is doubting russian motives, it seemed that these two men are each other‘s biggest cheerleaders at right now. president trump says he has no intention of sacking robert miller. —— robert mueller. a

spokesman for robert mueller says the team has followed the appropriate criminal process in all its dealings. trump campaign lawyer had accused him of attaining an authorised access to tens of thousands of e—mails. donald trump says he has no intention of firing robert mueller. boko haram, according to the world food programme is has been accused of killing. the four—time olympic champion was

ina studio the four—time olympic champion was in a studio in north london presented the award for best athlete but things did not all go to plan. presented the award for best athlete but things did not all go to planlj hope but things did not all go to plan.|j hope you can hear us. your daughter is there with the trophy. please don't tell me he has on to bed... laughter. when it is the line was finally re—established, this is he had to say. what i have achieved is incredible over the years and for the youngsters out there, you cannot work hard enough to achieve your dreams and anything is possible in life. if you believe in it, work in it and keep grafting and anything is possible. what an amazing night it is andi possible. what an amazing night it is and i wish i was there but, sorry, i cannot be there. but it is

all exciting for us. i just sorry, i cannot be there. but it is all exciting for us. ijust can't believe i won. earlier in the evening, there was an emotional tribute to sunderland fan, bradley lowery. the six—year—old died this year of neuroblastoma, a rare type of cancer. he became a well—known figure among the sporting community and developed a close relationship with the england striker, jermain defoe. his parents, gemma and carl, collected the posthumous helen rollason award, given "for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity" at the ceremony. gemma lowery spoke to the audience after she was presented with the award. wow, iam wow, i am slightly overwhelmed but absolutely honoured to receive this on behalf of bradley. he was only here for six short years but the nation took him into their hearts and he raised so much awareness for childhood cancer. i am so proud of him and to continue that we set up a

foundation to continue the good work he has done. not only are we supporting people with fundraising but we are going to give grants out because we want to build an amazing how support six children to go out and have some normality and have some special memories it was all we haveis some special memories it was all we have is special memories but we treasure them every single day and we wa nt treasure them every single day and we want to give back. i want to finish by saying thank you so so much by the continued support. everyone has been fantastic. we could not do it without you. please continue with the support and together we can make a difference. we will bejoined in together we can make a difference. we will be joined in a together we can make a difference. we will bejoined in a moment by viewers from bbc one. a multiple car crash in birmingham leaves six people dead and one man

fighting for his life in hospital. it happened in an underpass in the early hours of the morning. witnesses described the scene as horrific. i saw loads of people running towards where the crash was. police officers telling everyone to get back. tonight one of the dead has been named locally as imtiaz mohammed, 33 and a father of six. ambulance crews says so many vehicles were involved it is astonishing and the number of victims was not higher. the bbc worker has been found dead in lebanon. rebecca sykes has been found dead, strangled. and helping to prepare early for retirement. and it is another victory for samoa —— serve no farrah. good evening.

investigators are trying to establish what caused a multiple pile up in an underpass in birmingham in the early hours of this morning which killed six people. one other man is critically ill in hospital. firefighters who helped remove bodies from the wreckage described the scene as "horrific." tonight, one of those who died has been named locally as imtiaz mohammed. he was 33 and a father of six. from birmingham, phil mackie reports. the immediate aftermath of the crash. debris everywhere. five were already damp and a sixth dying. the rest the rest of the footage is too

graphic to show. in daylight, the scale of what happened became clearer. three of the people who died were in this taxi. astonishingly, the man and the woman in the small car crushed between it and the wall walked away with minor injuries. the sound of the crash woke many of the people who live nearby. got out of bed, looked out the window and just saw loads of people running towards where the crash was. and then the police officers telling everyone to get back, get back, so i guess people were trying to help people. they pulled two people out of the taxi. i didn't realise it was a taxi until today, but they pulled two people out of the taxi, resuscitating them straightaway for about 25 minutes. they took one in the ambulance. ididn't i didn't see them take the second one away, so i didn't see them take the second one away, so i don't know if they didn't make it, but, yes, it was havoc. the crash happened on a section of the belgrave middleway, a busy road in the heart of birmingham. the vehicles collided at the entrance to an underpass

at the junction of bristol road. it had to be closed to allow them to investigate. investigators will be looking at a number of factors. the road was gritted at eight hours before the accident. at iam, temperatures were close to freezing. residents say especially when it is late at night and the road is quiet, people will come along here at excess speeds. it will take some time to unpick the scene and just understand exactly what has happened, and it would be unfairfor me to speculate at this time. what i can say is that we are looking to all sorts of conditions, the road conditions, we are aware of the road was gritted 5pm last night but that is just one factor of many we need to consider. 40 a0 firefighters helped free the survivors. five ambulance crews and three paramedics treated the injured at what was described as a complex scene. it quickly became apparent there could not be a lot done to actually save the lives of some

of those patients unfortunately. again, very difficult circumstances, as you have already alluded to, very close to christmas, so, you know, our thoughts are with the families and friends of those patients involved. police described the accident as harrowing. investigations into what caused it are likely to take some time. tonight, another victim has been named. mr hussain. we understand they all come from smallheath. police are expected to reveal more details soon. the investigation could take some time. anyone who has filmed anything has been told not to cheriejohn social media us. ——

share it on social media. thank you. police in lebanon are investigating the death of a british embassy worker. the bbc has been told the body of rebecca dykes was found on the side of a motorway yesterday. a spokesman for the family says they're devastated, and are doing all they can to understand what happened. martin patience is in beirut for us tonight. what more are usually ring from authorities in relation to this? what more are usually ring from authorities in relation to this7m was a going away party for a colleague at a restaurant in the city. she left the bar at midnight. it is believed she was abducted. her body was found dumped on the side of a motorway on saturday morning. police sources have told us they believe she was strangled. she had beenin believe she was strangled. she had been in the country for almost a year working as a programme officer

for the department of international development. we have been hearing from the british ambassador in beirut that the whole embassy was deeply shocked by the news and he added they were working closely with the lebanese authorities who are conducting this police investigation. thank you very much, martin patience, live in beirut. in south africa voting has finally begun to elect a new leader after a series of delays. the eventual winner is expected to become the country's new president, replacing jacob zuma, who's time in office has been marked by deep divisions within the anc. our africa editor, fergal keane is in johannesburg. some confusion as to when the vote would take place. will it be on time? will we know in the morning as to who will be the new leader? nothing about this process has been

on time. a pretty chaotic evening here. i am on time. a pretty chaotic evening here. iam now on time. a pretty chaotic evening here. i am now at the conference centre. we were told two hours ago it would not take place and happen in the morning. then a message came saying it is starting. we spoke to delegates coming out of the voting booth that it is happening and going province by province. we expect, this is very qualified, because it could easily pause again, but we expect there should be a result, the next president of the african congress, the oldest movement in africa, we should know it at 10 o'clock, perhaps 11 o'clock, tomorrow. it is a big deal politically, not just tomorrow. it is a big deal politically, notjust for the african national congress, but south africa. the country has been badly hit by the allegations of corruption and misrule swirling around the government ofjacob and misrule swirling around the government of jacob zuma and misrule swirling around the government ofjacob zuma is a bit people around the country are looking for something new. —— zuma.

we will find out tomorrow if it is the man who says he will sweep away corruption or the wife of president jacob zuma, ex—wife, i should say. thank you. live from johannesburg. a suicide bomb attack on a packed methodist church in south—western pakistan, has killed at least nine people and wounded more than 50 others. cctv images caught the moment one of two bombers ran into the building with an assault rifle in the city of quetta. one of the attackers was shot dead by police, the other detonated his device. so—called islamic state have claimed responsibility. russia says its security services have stopped a terror attack in st petersburg, with the help of information from the cia. president putin has thanked president trump, and says his country would reciprocate if it knew of a threat to the united states or its citizens. thejustice secretary has called for a ban on the sale of tiny mobile phones which can't be detected by prison security scanners.

officials say the phones, which are no bigger than a cigarette lighter, are freely available on the internet, and are being smuggled into jails to help facilitate more crime. mobile phones have emerged as a major security challenge for many prisons. the government is considering extending automatic enrolment into a workplace pension to 18—year—olds from 2020. currently, the starting age is 22 for anyone earning more than £10,000. workers can opt out, but the change could affect around 900,000 people. joe lynam reports. ollie and nate are both 21. ollie, on the left, has not yet started saving for his retirement. it's not really crossed my mind yet. i move jobs quite frequently, tend not to stay in one place too long. so i have, pensions have been lower down the list of things i have been conscious of.

nate, though, has been saving for his retirement since he was 16. i grew up with a family on welfare, so i was quite aware of the effects being reliant on government money can have. and how insecure it can be sometimes. if the work and pensions secretary david gauke has his way, young people like ollie and nate could soon be automatically enrolled for a pension at their employers. that, i think, will get more people into the habit of saving. it will mean that younger people will be saving for those extra years, so that, obviously, is significant when it comes to their retirement. the government says that it has already had 9 million involved. young people leaving schools today are facing this perfect storm of

high housing costs, a squeeze on living costs, and having to contend with a quite limited wage. it makes it quite likely they would want to t it quite likely they would want to opt out if they do not know what the pension is doing for them. at the moment, only those aged over 22 are automatically included in a pension scheme by their employers, but the government wants that age lowered to 18. soon, 8% of our salaries will be going into a pension pot, something that employers are worried about. i think what the government needs to bear in mind, however, is how much of the cost of that is going to be falling on employers in the future, because, already, the cost for employers is on course to treble by 2019. today's announcement means the cost for employers will be even higher than that. to 18 or even 21—year—olds, retirement must seem a very long way off, especially if they don't earn much, but if this plan proceeds, it could help prevent younger people depending on the state in decades to come. joe lynam, bbc news.

the un says the leaders of myanmar could face charges of genocide over the persecution of rohingya moslems. it's estimated more than 650,000 have fled into neighbouring bangladesh since august, escaping a military crackdown and militia violence. myanmar‘s army says it's only been targeting rohingya militants. our south asia correspondent justin rowlatt reports. this boy is 11 years old. he draws pictures of the horrors he has witnessed. translation: older women we re witnessed. translation: older women were stamped on, and then the military grabbed him by the hair and slaughtered them. —— them by. because i saw that, i am drawing this. he is one of 650,000 rohingya

refugees who fled myanmar after a military assault that began in late august. they are coming to kill us, says the man, they are coming to kill us. be widespread and systematic nature of the violence has persuaded the un chief to say that it could amount to genocide, a cts that it could amount to genocide, acts intended to destroy a group of people. can anyone roll out that elements of genocide may be present? —— rule. he wants a criminal investigation to identify the perpetrators, and in an exclusive interview with the bbc, he does not rule out the possibility that aung san suu kyi or military leaders could end up in the dock. given the scale of the operation, clearly,

there would have to be decisions taken at a high enough level. and then there is the crime of omission, that if it came to your knowledge that if it came to your knowledge that this was being committed and you did nothing to stop it, then you could be culpable as well for that. he says only a court can judge that, but he is determined thatjustice should be done. in the meantime, though, this boy and hundreds of thousands like him remain in limbo. we asked aung san suu kyi for a response but she has not replied. justin rowlatt, bbc news. and you can see more on that story on panorama tomorrow night at 7:30 on bbc one. prince harry has interviewed barack obama for bbc radio a's today programme. did you start using long pauses

between sentences on purpose? it's part of harry's guest editorship of the programme, and features the former us president sharing his memories of the day he left office, and his hopes for life away from the white house. now, with all the day's sport, here's lizzie greenwood hughes at the bbc sport centre. samoa farrah has been averted in athlete of the year. we were watching in liverpool. a warning, the report contains some flash photography. the world superbike champion arriving in liverpool with the best entrants. the toughest question was all the champion cyclist. i have been an asthmatic

since i was a child. i have never taken more of the drug than i am allowed and this is quite a horrible situation. anthonyjoshua allowed and this is quite a horrible situation. anthony joshua stood allowed and this is quite a horrible situation. anthonyjoshua stood on the red carpet amongst so many other sporting champions but this award is to acknowledge the spokesperson who most captures the public imagination. my farrah was with his children in london trying to do an interview. but his young son thought it was family time. we knewjohnny peacock was first and jonathan rio second. standby the winner. mo farrah. me, really? with his youngest daughter, his reaction was

wonderfully sweet but sadly short with the line at the london lost. in 2017 mo farrah was the outstanding individual athlete. world champion again. he said he expected to miss out as sports personality. you can bet yourself to other athletes and you think you could finish in the top three but never imagine i was going to win with. -- this. anything can happen was the story of the night. england's cricketers will walk out in a few hours time knowing they need a huge effort to avoid losing the ashes. they have been an done again in the crucial third test with mitchell starc delivering the ball of the century after it com pletely ball of the century after it completely direction at 90 miles an hour, taking the wicket of vince.

the pitch is deteriorating and england will most likely need to back out the final day or surrender the series. heart trashing the primitive leaders with the teenage striker winning man of the match after marking the beginning of