this is bbc news. i'm aaron safir. it should be at this time of year. it turns cooler in the south of the uk our top stories: as well. if you are out celebrating 12 people are killed as a passengerjet crashes at midnight on tuesday night into into a building in kazakhstan. new year's eve, it should be mostly dozens of people have survived. dry and will be rather chilly but they could be some patchy fog here and there. plenty more weather through the night. that's all for me from now. they all started screaming, kids we re they all started screaming, kids were crying and the lights were on hello, this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow in the plane but there was no sound, mornings papers in a moment. first the headlines. no instructions from the crew. the woman whose husband drowned in a pool in spain on christmas eve the un says parts of idlib province in syria along with two of their children are almost deserted, says all three did know how to swim, as nearly a quarter of a milion people flee and that she believes from a government offensive. there was something wrong with the pool. as chile's president gives in to one of the key demands of anti—government protesters, we have a special report on how ben stokes, hero of the cricket months of unrest have changed world cup, is among those named what was once one of latin america's in the new year's honours list, published tonight. at least 12 people are killed, but dozens survive, after a plane crashes in kazakhstan.

hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are the former fleet street editor, eve pollard, and the comment editor at city am, rachel cunliffe. many of tomorrow's front pages are already in. the guardian has an exclusive interview from the former labour deputy leader, tom watson, who says he was driven out of the party because of the "brutality and hostility" he was subjected to by party members. the daily mirror reports on the sad news that george michael's sister passed away on christmas day, exactly 3 years to the day that he died. the sun has the same story and quotes a source, which says melanie panayiotou had been suffering from an illness which "took a turn for the worse".

the times reports on the new years honours list, and the anger over the damehood award to former director of public prosecutions, alison saunders, who had faced criticism over her handling of sexual offence cases. the daily mail quotes nhs england figures, which show over half of middle aged adults have very high waist measurements that could put their health at risk. and the daily express reports on comments by the president of the european commission, who suggested the brexit transition period should be extended, after questioning whether a deal could be done by next december‘s deadline. let's begin with matters eu because we're looking at the daily express festival and the eu did to delay trade talks. we have been missing

the word brexit. .. just for a few days. here we go. we have the new european commission president saying that she doesn't think this transition us moving out of the eu can be done by december. i quite like our money and they really do not want to leave at all but this is just the beginning improbably many months of certainly pr battle about how long we should stay. the premise thatis how long we should stay. the premise that is determined to get out by the end of the year and he has the ability to say we are going. the government has said, there is a stop

at december 2020 but potentially there might be wiggle room to change their mind? he has put the end of their mind? he has put the end of the transition date as a proposed law to be voted on injanuary. obviously they can always change the law but what is telling is that we have been talking for three years about when are we going to get out of the eu and several missed deadlines now it has become clear we are going to leave at the end of january and immediately, that you are talking about extending the next deadline, the trade talks and what the government has been trying to do on our the government has been trying to do on our side anyway is thank you not theresa may's government and are not up theresa may's government and are not up for kicking the can down the road, pushing deadlines, extending the uncertainty. we want to spend the uncertainty. we want to spend the next six months seeing if we can doa the next six months seeing if we can do a trade deal and if we cannot, looking at a basic bill we could do instead which would be disruptive but at least we would know where we we re but at least we would know where we

were going. the way it is written it sets up as a great clash. were going. the way it is written it sets up as a great clashlj were going. the way it is written it sets up as a great clash. i think we will see a bit of this. the times, on page four, a story about huawei. earlier this year, there was the controversy over the chinese telecom giant unlisted to build 56 networks... we talked about it a lot. is it security risk? did someone lot. is it security risk? did someone lose theirjob in government... that seems a very long time ago. this is revelation that this company received a lot of money from the chinese money in grants, tax breaks, credit facilities and whether this amounts to undue chinese state influence on this company and that can be working because of a building infrastructure that can allow the chinese government to spy on british

citizens. huawei denies this and says it is fully independent. experts on how chinese companies operate might have a different view given how the state and that corporations are tightly bound. with brexit, one wonders how the evolving relationship with any new deals between britain and china will go. one wonders. they were given £57 billion in orderfor them to undercut and when this award, as it were. i would undercut and when this award, as it were. iwould be undercut and when this award, as it were. i would be fascinated to see what the new government thinks about it. it is known that the chinese are very, very interested in spying on companies and stealing intellectual property rights so this shows how keen the government were that huawei got this deal. the us is against it and, if we are trying to cosy up to

the us, regardless of what we think of the security implications on that merit, it might be a good strategic move to side with the us. the security implications are pretty heavy. we think somebody is listening to everything you are saying on a new 56 thing... people probably are listening to everything you are saying. printing complex geopolitical questions at stake. o nto geopolitical questions at stake. onto the guardian frontpage, a story about tom watson, deputy leader of the labor party saying and talking about what he described as brutality he experienced within the party. about what he described as brutality he experienced within the partym course, he was going to be unseated at the last labour party conference and he kicked up a hell of a fuss and he kicked up a hell of a fuss and that was moved of what i think he did lose the seat... he did not

stand, i think. he did lose the seat... he did not stand, ithink. that's he did lose the seat... he did not stand, i think. that's right. he did lose the seat... he did not stand, ithink. that's right. that said went tory for the first time. —— seat. said went tory for the first time. -- seat. he went at a time of his own choosing. everybody knew what the tory manifesto was, get brexit done but nobody knew what labour was standing for anyway. he has been careful not to criticise jeremy corbyn to strongly but has criticised people around him. corbyn to strongly but has criticised people around himm corbyn to strongly but has criticised people around him. it is fascinating that when there was leadership challenge, owen smith and jeremy corbyn, he voted for owen smith, as deputy leader voted against the leader and labour has to doa against the leader and labour has to do a lot of soul searching, which they are not really doing, the noises coming out of the party is it was the right message but we got unlucky... it was a brexit election. canada is declaring one way or the

other, after the christmas break so no doubt this will feed in the wider discussion of what happens with labour. the times, page 12, which is a story about a super defence agency. this is amazing. £800 million to be spent on a super defence agency put somewhere in the north of the midlands, it is partly about loosing our defence capabilities and i will let you talk about how exciting this is because i know you think this is really and stop but it is also about rebalancing stop but it is also about re balancing the stop but it is also about rebalancing the economy which is something the government has to do given that have one seat in places they have never one before. —— won. this is a positive interventionist policy. a deliberate one. but how is it going down by conservatives? only

a third of people think the government should be intervening in this way and 60% are distrustful and think this government is moving away from conservative principles. these are conservative members. a very small section of the economy but one thing that i would be interested in looking out over the next couple of years is how much does the party change and what happens to traditional conservatives as it moves in a new direction stop but you wanted to talk about how exciting it is. i also think actually the party will have to change because they have this so—called red while which is now under them. actually, iam so—called red while which is now under them. actually, i am very lucky, i live in london but i know if you live outside london, you feel everything is done in london, for london, the south—east sway and we need a silicon valley somewhere else, why not up north. it could

givejobs up else, why not up north. it could give jobs up north, else, why not up north. it could givejobs up north, make them else, why not up north. it could give jobs up north, make them feel like they were part of something exciting happening. they have given this tory government their seeds if they don't keep them on site that will not win them again. -- seat. sir eltonjohn, will not win them again. -- seat. sir elton john, a will not win them again. -- seat. sir eltonjohn, a great honour. will not win them again. -- seat. sir elton john, a great honour. we willjoking and sir elton john, a great honour. we will joking and saying sir elton john, a great honour. we willjoking and saying all thejohn have got a gong. sir eltonjohn and olivia newton—john... have got a gong. sir eltonjohn and olivia newton-john... we have got a gong. sir eltonjohn and olivia newton-john. .. we will come back to that. british-born, living in la, but we remember herfrom the movie greece. she has been battling cancerfor movie greece. she has been battling cancer for many, many years. movie greece. she has been battling cancerfor many, many years. he movie greece. she has been battling cancer for many, many years. he has been made a companion of honour. interesting to see how he will enliven the meetings, i imagine. he

raised a lot of money to fight aids and interest think that a lot of the papers are doing the new year honours story from different angles. some of them are looking at the celebrity angle, people who raise the conversation about what kind of people get honours. they have some fantastic names. this archaic tradition, once a year... twice a year. indeed, twice a year and olivia newton—john as well. year. indeed, twice a year and olivia newton-john as well. let me go back to the front page of the guardian. it is made for that headline. she becomes a dame for services to charity and entertainment, of course. yes but what we were both charmed by is what the eye newspaper has done, talking about ordinary heroes. people have seen what they have done and are written in and said, there is this

wonderful person who does things like, a woman set up a charity, to wish upon a star, to help read family after she lost her baby son and husband within days of each other. to set up a charity for other people in the same position is extraordinary. most people would agree that these people are the sorts of people that absolutely the honour system should be for. people love to see the favourites, thinkers and actresses, actors awarded but the controversy when you look at politicians and other people in that area of public life. invariably more controversial figures. iain area of public life. invariably more controversialfigures. iain duncan smith is a controversial one particularly because of the chaos of universal credit and i am sure he

had good intentions but the mirror leads big on the lives that have been ruined as a result of that and there is a feeling that when it comes to honours in politics and in critical advisors, that people get awarded whether they fail or succeed. that goldman being made a lot despite losing his seat. ——is goldman. but he knows a lot about the environment. there are more people in work than ever before and maybe universal credit help some people. i think there is a feeling that people have already been rewarded by having fascinating lives... this is the front page we wa nted lives... this is the front page we wanted to get to tonight. probably never really thought about a gong when they went into it, they did it because it mattered to them. they

certainly did not do it because they thought they would get an award. this couple have fostered 59 people. that is amazing. i hope they are allowed to take 59 of them to the palace. congratulations to the ordinary heroes. thank you very much to the both of you. that's it for the papers tonight. don't forget you can see the front pages of the papers online on the bbc news website. it's all there for you 7 days a week at bbc.co.uk/papers and if you miss the programme any evening you can watch it later on bbc iplayer. a big thank you to my guests this evening, eve and rachel. that's all from us tonight and goodnight.

hello and welcome to this, the last travel show of 2019, so what a better time to take a look back on the past year on the programme? here's a taste of what's coming up. it's incredible. oh, my days! that was completely insane. bet‘s kick off with a trip that mike made over to california back in may. we told him that all he would need was a taste for adventure and a head for heights. here's what happened. here in western california, there are complex beings that have lived for over a millennium. redwood trees have become an icon of this state. but some fear that our changing climate might threaten their survival.

so i have come to the most southern tip of their range — where change could hit the hardest — to join a scientist who has been working here to try to find some answers. it's absolutely amazing being out in the forest, i just love it, listening to the birds and watching the sun move through the canopy, it's beautiful. today, we will be climbing this... so these are coast redwoods. they are the tallest tree species in the world, reaching currently about 580 feet tall is the tallest ones. they are incredibly tough and resilient, really important ecologically and they are iconic. so i have been here, trying to get a better understanding of how they are responding to climate change, and how they might respond to

future climate change. and how are they responding to climate change? as the climate changes, temperatures are increasing, it's drying things out as temperatures get warmer, and that's a big, big consideration for these particular trees because they need so much water, it's affecting their water balance and their ability to transport more water to the tops of the trees. but now, it's time to get to work. groans. there we go. so first, we need a sample of the tree's core. this is the halfway mark there, and then when you get to the ground, we'll be able to pull that spoon out with the core on it. and the hidden secrets beneath this bark will be ours! yes! the knowledge will be ours! earlier on, anthony showed me some of those secrets this tree had already revealed. and so, wow! these are the rings here? yeah, each one of those an annual ring, one year's worth of growth you can see here. so it only grows a couple of millimetres each year? yeah, and sometimes less than a millimetre a year, depending on how the conditions are.

we are back hundreds of years right now? once we polish this up and sand it and get a better view of the rings, you know, this is — there could be 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700 maybe years here. wow. so this section up here hasn't seen sunlight for 600, 700 years. yeah. it's an amazing archive. alright, so i have one end of the tape measure. we are doing the circumference measurement. yep, yep. so wrap it all the way around that underneath this tubing that. so we are at 7.81; metres circumference. that's a big tree! it is a big tree. to the top! this redwood stands

at over 70 metres tall. climbing redwoods is forbidden in most places, but in this reserve, we have special permission — and what a privilege it is! 0k. a0 metres. i cannot believe how incredible it is up here. it's incredible up here. as we inched upwards, i am faced with more scorched bark. anthony told me that wildfires are another threat that these trees are increasingly facing in the modern world. bird's nest. i don't think there is anybody home, though. with anthony already at the top collecting samples, i make my final push upwards.

this view... ..is definitely one of the wildest, most incredible views i have seen in my entire life. i can't believe we are 71 metres off the ground right now. condors get this view. condors, and us. it's incredible. this is 700 years old! which is before the colonisation of america, before taj mahal, before machu pichu. it makes you feel like a speck of sand in the sandbox. like, insignificant. yeah, it's a pretty humbling experience, isn't it? if the climate change experience dries things sufficiently, then they might start to feel some impacts, they might not grow as well, may not get as tall, and they might, in the future, even might die back, and that is what we're trying to find out. do i feel the tree shaking a little bit? yeah, it's waving. just a normal thing, i am assuming? yeah.

time something with a bit more horsepower now, and in march, adam made his first ever visit to dubai. let's just say he got to travel style, very very quickly. good to see you. look at this! jump in. all set? let's do it! everywhere we look, i mean, i'm just seeing... we have a rolls—royce going past here, mercs, that is standard. supercars everywhere. what is it with dubai? why are they so in love with their superca rs here? there are a couple of different reasons. one is to show off. as much as no—one wants to admit it, people do like showing off. then there are the most amazing driving roads in the uae.

danny's ninth degree group of local supercar owners hold regular track days and events here. and they even let you hire one of the top—of—the—range models, so that you can get behind the wheel — for a few hours, at least. we are going to go for a spin in this car, and this car is the real deal. it's almost £1 million worth of raw, brutal, unadulterated power. dan, let's do this, man! let's go. oh, yes! screams. oh, my days! laughs.

now, if you are a fan of winter sports, you are going to love this next one, because back in march, christa headed to latvia to try her hand on one of the very few professional bobsleigh tracks that are open to tourists, and it was quite a ride. welcome to sigulda's bobsleigh track, one of the very few in the world where tourists can get the same adrenaline rush as professional racers. we are about to set off, 100 kilometres down a very icy slope. but luckily, i've got an expert pilot, so fingers crossed that it goes very smoothly. apart from the pilots steering the bobsleigh from the front, a team also includes pushers and a brake man. but tourists get it easy. theyjust need to duck in and hold — very tight! this track is almost 1500 metres long and you need a pretty strong

stomach to manage its 16 curves. woo! chuckles. oh, man! woo! i think that is one of the most intense experiences of my entire life. that was like being in a very, very active, very cold tunnel dryer for a minute and a half. another winter sport that can take your breath away is this — the skeleton. imagine a luge with no brakes or steering aid that you ride headfirst. i don't think i'm ready to try one of the full—blown skeletons, but there is a tourist version available that is a little bit

more my speed. wish me luck. it's called a frog, and for this one, there's no crew to make me feel safe. woo! oh, my goodness! oh, god! laughter. oh, god! how was it? so cool! i could go again! right now, let's go.

good evening. there has been a shortage of festive cheer for the weather today. many spots have stayed grey and gloomy. as we head through this coming weekend, it should start to turn a little bit brighter, slowly but surely. there will be some rain at times in the north and west. on the satellite picture you can see we have been bringing lots of cloud in our direction. a moist south—westerly flow heading towards us. the cloud towards the north—west still bringing some outbreaks of rain. this evening and tonight we will continue to see ray moving out of northern ireland and into scotland and northern england. even south of that there will be the odd spot of drizzle. cloudy, misty and murky conditions. double digits in the west end in the north. as we go into tomorrow, we will still have frontal systems plaguing the north—west of the uk. still lots of cloud in the south—westerly flow, but with high

pressure to the east, many spots will be largely dry. certainly across england and wales it looks like a predominantly dry day, limited brightness, could see the cloud breaking across north—eastern wales and north—western england. northern ireland and scotland seeing some rain at times, but in north—eastern scotland with some shelter from the breeze there is every chance we will see some sunshine, temperatures here may be up sunshine, temperatures here may be up to 15 or14. sunshine, temperatures here may be up to 15 or 1a. more widely in double digits, even when you keep the cloud. it looks like sunday could still be warmer because through saturday night you start to import this plume of even mild air to the north of the uk. at the same time, we are going to try to tap into this drier, clear hour down here across the near continent. a better chance during sunday to break the cloud up a little bit. perhaps more in the way of sunny spells on sunday. still fairly large areas of cloud and some rain plaguing the north—west of scotland as well. with the south—westerly wind, when you get some shelter, the north coast of northern ireland, the murray of scotland, 1a or 15 as possible, way

above the average for this time of year. as we head into the last two days of 2019, there are signs things will start to turn cooler again, especially in the north of the uk, or seven degrees. further south it turns cooler as well, but wherever you look across the country, it is going to be predominantly dry, and that drive them takes us into the night time on new year's eve. it will be quite chilly, though, and 00:29:24,161 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 they could be patches of