this is bbc news i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 10:00... at least 12 people have been killed, after a plane crashed in kazakhstan — but there are 60 survivors, including children. tributes are paid to a father and his 2 children, who drowned in a hotel swimming pool in spain on christmas eve. free hospital parking in england for some patients and visitors from april — but questions over how it will be funded. the national trust says there's been an increase in wildlife migrating to the uk, because of climate change. and later on, i'll be looking at the stories we've covered from britain's coastal towns this year. that's in half an hour with me, simon mccoy.

good morning, welcome to bbc news. at least 12 people have died, after a passenger plane crashed in kazakhstan. the bek air flight had just taken off from the country's biggest city, almaty, and was travelling to the capital, nur—sultan, when it crashed into a building. 60 others were injured in the crash. 98 people were onboard the flight, including five crew. 0ur moscow correspondent sarah rainsford gave us this update. the latest that we are getting here are the extraordinary account of the people who have survived this crash. a couple of people have been telling their story to local media and even describing how they managed to walk away from the wreckage of this plane. one man, a businessman, who was flying up to the country's

capital, nur—sultan for business meetings today, he was sitting in the 15th row of the plane, just over the wing. if you look at the wreckage, it's the front part of the plane in front of the wing that was the most badly destroyed as the plane ploughed into that building just beyond the perimeter fence of the airport. now, this man says that just after take—off, the plane began to rock from side to side. he said it was like a boat. he said there was a bang as well and then the plane began plummeting to the ground. he said it was all extremely fast, there was hardly time to realise what was happening before the plane smashed into, crash landed just outside the airport. now he managed to climb out through the window and has described how other passengers were helping other people off the plane. extraordinary really that so many people manage to survive and i think that key to that was not just the fact the plane was a very high when it crashed, but also the fact there was no

fire on impact. so those who were at least in the back section of the plane, many of them do appear to have managed to make it to safety. sarah, do we know anything about the conditions at the time? the weather conditions? i mean, it is winter, of course, in kazakhstan. it was extremely cold, but that's normal for kazakhstan, that's normal for planes and for the airport, they deal with that all the time. we do understand it was foggy, so the weather conditions will be obviously one of the things the investigation looks into. the official information on the investigation suggests they will also be looking at pilot error and possible technical problems with the aircraft, which of course, is utterly standard in something like this. certainly, the president of kazakhstan has announced a day of mourning. there are big questions over what has happened, but the airport authorities have released this list of some 60 passengers who have received medical help and we believe a couple of dozen people have potentially walked away from this almost entirely unscathed.

i've been discussing more details about the crash with the independent‘s travel editor, simon calder. this is the third jet passenger airline to crash this year after very sadly, the loss of the boeing 737 max in march, ethiopian airlines flight 302, in which 157 people died and the superjet which crashed at moscow in may with the loss of 41 lives. of course, the aviation community wants to know what has gone wrong and the investigators will already be at the scene of the accident, which took place a kazakhstan‘s main international airport. what is air travel like in kazakhstan, have there ever been any concerns travelling from the country or within the country? there certainly have. kazakhstan is a vast country, 12 times the size of the uk

and bek air, the aircraft involved in this accident, was set up in the 1990s, a time when many countries in the former soviet union were establishing independent airlines. in terms of safety concerns, the international civil aviation 0rganization, which regulates safety regulators around the world, actually had some very serious concerns earlier this decade. three years ago it said that it was satisfied with the conditions and the european union removed the kazakhstan airlines from the list of airlines that should not be allowed to fly within europe. this all excludes, by the way, the national flag carrier air astana, which has been regarded as having high safety standards. but the us state department still believes that any airlines, apart from air astana, are too dangerous for its diplomats to fly in and they actually say they will not be permitted to fly within kazakhstan on airlines such as bek air. has that got something to do

with the fleet then, because i believe in this case they were the fokkerjet? yes, built in the netherlands in the 20th century. this one was 23 years old and it was the only aircraft type that bek air flies. now, there is nothing significantly wrong with flying old aircraft, i recently flew on one in the canadian arctic which was 45 years old and british airways has some 747s which are 26 years old. as long as aircraft are well maintained and flown, then their age is simply not significant and it's perfectly valid for particularly low cost airlines to start using older aircraft which are cheaper to release. which are cheaper to lease. bek air, indeed, has ordered some more modern aircraft. tributes are being paid to a british man and his two children, who drowned in a hotel swimming pool in spain. gabriel diya who was 52, died along

with his 9—year—old daughter, comfort, and 16—year—old son, praise—emmanuel, on christmas eve. the london church where mr diya was a pastor say their prayers are with the family. sean dilley reports. more than 72 hours on and police are still trying to understand how three members of the same family drowned in this pool in one of spain's most popular tourist destinations. it is thought that nine—year—old comfort diya got into trouble in the water, and that her 52—year—old father, gabriel, and 16—year—old brother, praise—emmanuel, tried to rescue her at the club la costa resort. gabriel diya was a pastor at this church, in south—east london. in a post on their facebook page, they said... underneath, hundreds of comments have been left. in the diya family neighbourhood, shock and sadness. i'm still trying to get it in my head that this has

really happened to them. yeah, it's shocking, shocking, shocking to hear somebody died by drowning, especially, who went for holiday. the foreign office is continuing to support a british woman believed to be the children's mother, meanwhile spanish police say they found nothing wrong with the pool which has since reopened. sean dilley, bbc news. 0ur reporter, emily unia, has been at the church in southeast london where gabriel diya worked as a pastor. she gave the response from there. the church has put a statement on its facebook page offering its condolences to the family, the parish, associates and friends of pastor diya. there are hundreds of comments and to give you a sense of how loved and respected the family wear. we have been speaking to

neighbours in the area and they have been shocked and saddened to hear of the news of these three deaths on christmas eve. i understand nine—year—old comfort went to a local primary school. spanish police say they investigated the pool, its pump and filtration system. they couldn't find anything wrong with it. they don't really know any more about exactly this incident happened. said all three people died by drowning. the company he runs the resort say they are cooperating fully with the spanish authorities and this investigation is continuing. the government has announced that from april, thousands of nhs patients, visitors and staff will benefit from free parking at hospitals in england. most visitors to hospitals in scotland, wales and northern ireland are already exempt from charges. 0ur health correspondent, dominic hughes, reports.

paying for parking at hospitals has been a long—running source of complaint from any nhs patients and their visitors. during the election campaign, the conservative manifesto promised free hospital parking for specific groups so, from april, all 206 hospital trusts in england will be expected to provide free parking for those described as being "in the greatest need". this will include... blue badge holders. frequent visitors to outpatient clinics. parents of sick children staying overnight. and stuff working nightshifts. but there have been some concerns from nhs managers who fear trusts may lose out financially. we will be looking for assurances that the costs of these measures will be fully covered because, otherwise, there is a risk that funding intended to run front—line services could be diverted into running carparks. hospitals make a lot of money out of parking fees. the conservative manifesto promised £78 million to help trusts make the changes.

the department of health and social care says the plans will be fully funded but the exact cost has yet to be calculated. dominic hughes, bbc news. the deputy chief executive of nhs providers told the bbc that while some may think hospital car parking is a simple issue, there are actually more complex factors at play. i think it is really important to remember that car parking itself is actually quite a complex issue. it feels like a simple issue, but what we are talking about is maintaining and keeping safe in area of land so people can park their cars and access their services. but we have got to remember there are other factors at play. for example, if a hospital car park is in a city centre and offers free car parking, we have got to remember that can be used for other purposes and not for hospital patients. so there are a number of kind of more complex

factors at play than simply how we offer that car parking. so we have got to think through what this actually means, but it is absolutely the case that trusts are committed to providing the best possible access to patients for their care and so many already do provide concessionary 01’ and so many already do provide concessionary or free parking for blue badge holders, for those who are undertaking long—term chemotherapy, have long term conditions. you know, those staying overnight. many already offer what is being put forward today. firefighters in australia are bracing themselves for another heatwave as they continue to tackle raging bush fires. temperatures of over a0 degrees are forecast in several states. there are more than 100 fires still burning across new south wales, southern australia and victoria. the uk treasury is set to rip up its public spending rules to give

a financial boost to the north of england and the midlands, according to a report by the times this morning. the paper says decisions about transport infrastructure and business investment would have greater focus on helping the north reduce the productivity gap with the south. some of those areas, of course, turned from labour to the tories in this month's general election. i'm joined now by henri musion, director of the northern powerhouse partnership, is in ilkley in west yorkshire. thank you for speaking to us on bbc news. so your reaction to this announcement? i think it is welcome. the green book is one of a series of linked issues, the government don't prepare enough major projects in the north historically. when andy burnham was a minister, he was given crossrail wrong. no one had prepared anything of a similar impact and

reach. what this will do is link to other areas of change to happen in the north so the change for transport in the north and the metro mayors who will develop the scheme is needed in the north. they will avoid the transport methodology and the wider cost benefit appraisal causing issues in the system. there are causing issues in the system. there a re lots of causing issues in the system. there are lots of things which have passed the green book and still didn't get done, but what this will do is ensure there is that level playing field always. because there is a technical issue, that if you want to spend money somewhere, where there is high levels of economic growth, it is easy to get to the green book process than it is in areas where, what you are doing a stimulating economic demands rather than dealing with existing growth you are expecting to have an economy. london and the south—east still needs investment. this is ensuring that schemes in the north of england can be looked at on a genuinely comparable basis. a big project in

the north will often be stimulating growth, which other —— otherwise wouldn't happen. we already know in the next 20 years london's economy will grow significantly but if the uk is going to succeed post brexit, we need to get comparable levels of growth in the north and the midlands andi growth in the north and the midlands and i think if they happen, it will help with that. just to give viewers a clearer understanding of what exactly is going on when we talk about this geographical imbalance. could you describe to us this geographical imbalance in action and how projects have failed because of this green book not really applying to the north or the midlands? there have been schemes like building for leeds arena, which has been a successful economic project in leeds, where they had to get a ministerial direction, partly because the civil servant said the cost appraisal didn't show much

benefit. also the removal of the pacer trains happening on the northern rail network. that required a ministerial direction because those trains were so old and clapped out, they didn't cost any money so spending money on any new trains is ha rd to spending money on any new trains is hard to justify because the comparison made the new trains look very expensive when in reality, they we re very expensive when in reality, they were being compared with something that hardly moved and was a bus without wheels on the train network. if ministers don't have the significant bids and proposals that have been thought through, then it doesn't matter how good the wider methodology is, this is used most clearly seen in transport schemes but the green book is used across government. what i would expect to happen if this is changed in the budget, it will give greater confidence to to part of the countries that haven't seen it as much investment like the northern powerhouse rea. that will pass

alongside hs2 and the benefits of hs2 and powerhouse rail have been underestimated. partly because of the green book and partly because we are not very good at understanding the value and impact of really significant projects, really big projects. that is a wider issue of the treasury and the department for transport will have to grapple with. just looking at the statement the northern powerhouse put out, it appears your vice chair, lord jim o'neill, appears your vice chair, lord jim 0'neill, isn't entirely convinced that the government will come through on this, because i quote, "i hope it is real." i think he is right about that. we have had previous conservative ministers under theresa may who have made suggestions they want to do this. we have very clear if this does come off on have very clear if this does come offona have very clear if this does come off on a budget alongside a green light for the northern powerhouse rail, that would be a strong signal the government had changed direction and was taking these issues seriously. i don't think we can take

the musings of dominic cummings on the musings of dominic cummings on the front page of the times at face value. we have got to see the detail behind it. i do believe that the chief secretary is very serious and if they are given the support needed from the wider cabinet colleagues, it will happen but it falls on the whole cabinet to back those northern mps to make sure these issues do make it to the budget and we see the confirmation of this decision later in the early part of next year, in march when the budget is announced. there will be a lot of areas away from the south—east where people are pushing to get all that money away from london. it is notjust about the north, they say the northern powerhouse, a very proactive part of this, who else could benefit from this, who else could benefit from this, what other parts of the country? anyone who has a proposition to rebalance the economy. i think there are parts of the midlands, andy street, the mayor of the west midlands, is doing a

phenomenaljob driving his local economy and the region of the west midlands. what that means is if you are committed to putting money back into the treasury, the point of the northern powerhouse and what andy street is doing in the west midlands, is deal with the fact that structurally, we have to subsidise places in the north of england, the most economically challenged ones, because they take more out of the treasury in benefits and public services, because health inequality is worthless in the nothing. —— worse. it's so northern errors don't just retain more of the taxes but use the revenue is directly rather than having to rely on money from whitehall. i don't want the north to be dependent on benefits from london taxpayers and businesses based in london. i would taxpayers and businesses based in london. iwould much taxpayers and businesses based in london. i would much rather we raise our own money from the economic growth we have in the north of england and spend that. that is the long—term aspiration but equally applies in other parts of the countries where the mayor has been

elected in the last four years after they were created by george osborne under the current government, have made a real impact. and those mayors, alongside national infrastructure do the job we want them to do, we will see the long—term payback. this benefits the whole country not just long—term payback. this benefits the whole country notjust the areas that may have missed out. actually, economic failure in parts of the uk costs everyone who lives here and we are going to have to fix a problem if you want to be successful in the global economy. k, thank you very much indeed. the headlines on bbc news... at least 12 people have been killed, after a plane crashed in kazakhstan — but there are 60 survivors, including children. tributes are paid to a father and his two children, who drowned in a hotel swimming pool in spain on christmas eve. free hospital parking in england for some patients and visitors from april — but questions over how it will be funded.

sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's ben. good morning. england have consolidated in the last hour after a shaky start to their first innings in first test against south africa. after bowling the hosts out early on day two, both openers fell cheaply before thejoes — denly and root — pushed england to 60—2 at the lunch interval. england spinner alex hartley's been watching for bbc sport's cricket social. what did you make of the first session? we lost our two openers in quick succession and now we have rebelled and i think england will be happy. important for england to get the early wicket because if south africa had huddled around, england would get nervous? it took about 300 asa would get nervous? it took about 300 as a cricketer to be the score to get it when you are in trouble, so england will be happy with keeping them under that. losing both

openers, less than ideal, identical to how the south african innings went? it is and you speak about weathering the storm when you first go in asa weathering the storm when you first go in as a batter, but both openers couldn't do that. butjoe denly and joe root have got us into a good position. south african bowling was particularly hostile. they are testing the england batsmen, how ha rd testing the england batsmen, how hard was it for them? you speak a lot about bowling partnerships and they did that. they bowled four or five maidens straight up. that is just fantastic. dom sibley, opening batsmen for england came in the tour of new zealand and did make a great impression out there, just four in the first innings here, do we need to stop being concerned for his place in the team just yet, only his third test? i wouldn't think so, they normally give people a good one. he didn't get himself out. i wouldn't be too concerned, but he does need to get a score just for

his own confidence. after the -- afternoon session getting under way in about 15 minutes. joe denly and joe root still at the crease and they were looking more assured at they were looking more assured at the end of the morning session, what do they have to do after lunch, do they just need to do they have to do after lunch, do theyjust need to do what they have been doing? just keep doing what they have been doing. it will be tough after lunch and they will have tough after lunch and they will have to weather the storm butjoe denly has done a fantasticjob. to weather the storm butjoe denly has done a fantastic job. we look forward to seeing how they go. if you want to hear more from alex, the cricket social on the bbc sport website is your place for that. liverpool might have moved 13 points clear at the top of the premier league but manager jurgen klopp insists they're not thinking about or mentioning winning a first league title in 30 years. they moved well clear of leicester after a thumping 4—0 win at the king power stadium. trent alexander—arnold setup roberto firmino for the first

of his two goals before getting in on the act himself. no team has been this far ahead after boxing day and not won the premier league. i don't expect a game like this is com pletely i don't expect a game like this is completely free run, because they have such quality and everybody knows the season lester has had so far. they could have caused us problems but today we were very concentrated and did a lot of things really good. then we scored the goal, which is absolutely very nice. an important day for us. celtic go into sunday's old firm derby against rangers with a five point lead in the scottish premiership, albeit having played a game more than their glasgow rivals. celtic maintained their advantage with a 2—1win at st mirren. callum mcdonald pounced on the rebound to put them ahead before james forrest's 14th of the season made it 2—0 not longer after. a couple of big welsh derbies in the pro 1a on boxing day. cardiff beat dragons but the standout scoreline came in llaneli were scarlett‘s thrashed an injury

hit 0spreys 411—0. steffan evans with a couple of tries for the home side. 0sprey‘s are bottom of their pro 1a pool — without a win since mid october. you're up to date from the bbc sport centre. there's more after 10.00. israel's prime minister benjamin neta nyahu has scored a decisive victory in a challenge to his leadership of the governing likud party. mr netanyahu will now lead israel into its third national election within a year, in march. but he is still facing bribery and corruption charges, which he denies. 0ur correspondent, barbara plett—usher is injerusalem for us. what is the scale of the victory expected? well, i think it was expected? well, i think it was expected that he would win and he did campaign very hard for a resounding victory because he wanted to put any dissent to rest. he wa nted to put any dissent to rest. he wanted to show he was in convincing control of the party. so nobody knew

for sure but the scale is what he was aiming forand for sure but the scale is what he was aiming for and that is something he has declared, is a giant victory. i think his opponent, the veteran politician had hoped for a while, at least, he might put in a better standing, but he knew that mr netanyahu standing, but he knew that mr neta nyahu had standing, but he knew that mr netanyahu had been treating this very seriously. mr netanyahu is out campaigning sometimes up to five events in one night. he had a very personal style, he calls people by name and has very strong and emotional support in the party. he brought out all his political genius to get this result and he is very pleased with it. will this result make it easier or harder mr netanyahu make it easier or harder mr neta nyahu as we make it easier or harder mr netanyahu as we head to the polls in march. he is a very polarising figure and he hasn't yet been able to form a government? that is something he says, it will. he has

just broken and he said the victory in the primary shows the party can win big in the national election. that is a very big if. if you look at the polls, they showed there won't be much difference in the third election than there were in the previous two, which was a political deadlock. as he said, mr netanyahu political deadlock. as he said, mr neta nyahu was one political deadlock. as he said, mr netanyahu was one of the most polarising issues on the agenda and in particular, his legal problems. he has been indicted on corruption charges. notjust he has been indicted on corruption charges. not just the he has been indicted on corruption charges. notjust the problems, but the way he has handled them has caused some of his support to drop. that is all still there and it seems unlikely at this point that the victory in his party will make a difference in the national political stand—off. difference in the national political stand-off. do those legal challenges cause any problems for him standing in march? well, we're not sure about that. in israel, a prime minister, a sitting prime minister does not have to resign if he is indicted on

criminal charges. but it is not if a candidate who is facing serious charges could be asked to form a new government. so there is a petition in front of the supreme court asking that question and for a decision on that question and for a decision on that and the court will hold a hearing next week about that. i think these kinds of challenges caused to mr netanyahu on legal grounds, could continue to dog him as they go into the election. barbara plett—usher injerusalem, thank you very much. a zoo in the us got a special christmas present this year when a critically endangered black rhino was born on christmas eve. the male calf arrived at the potter park zoo in michigan, to 12—year—old mother, doppsee. it is the first time a black rhino has been born there in the zoo's100 year history. they have yet to give the calf a name but have said he is nursing well and the public will be able

to see him in the new year. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt. drier and milder conditions set across the uk in the next few days. but wettest on wendy's across scotla nd but wettest on wendy's across scotland and northern ireland. severe gales around western areas. a wet afternoon for 0rkney and shetland compared with the morning. dry across the rest of scotland and northern ireland but they will never be too far away from rain or drizzle. patchy light rain and drizzle. patchy light rain and drizzle across england and wales here and there. lots of cloud around. temperatures up to around 12 degrees in the west. we will see gales around northern and western parts of scotland. quite a windy few days to come. another batch of heavy rain in northern ireland in the evening and then across scotland overnight. some of that will affect the far north of england at a time but lots of cloud across the country and the breeze coming in from the south, it should be mild. any clear

skies across eastern areas will see temperatures dropping into single figures but most around five to 10 degrees. see you later. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: at least 12 people have been killed, after a plane crashed in kazakhstan — but there are 60 survivors, including children. tributes are paid to a father and his two children,