this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. i'm james reynolds. our top stories: the un says parts of idlib province in syria are almost deserted, as nearly a quarter of a milion people flee from a government offensive. russia puts into service strategic missiles it claims can travel 27 times the speed of sound. 12 people are killed as a passengerjet crashes into a building in kazakhstan. dozens of people have survived. everyone started screaming, kids we re everyone started screaming, kids were crying, and the lights were on in the plane, and there was no like sound, there were no instructions

from the crew. as chile's president gives in to one of the key demands of anti—government protesters, we have a special report on how months of unrest have changed what was once one of latin america's most stable nations. the united nations estimates that nearly a quarter—of—a—million people have fled syria's idlib province in the past three weeks. the government and russian forces are intensifying their attacks on what is the rebels‘ last stronghold. the un says the maaret al—numan region in southern idlib is now almost empty — as the bbc‘s tim allman reports. before the war, more than 50,000 people lived and worked and thrived here, but now it looks more like a ghost town. the streets almost empty,

the houses deserted. convoys of cars and vans and lorries snaking out of this town and others like it as the people of idlib flee for their lives. from the end of april until the end of august, we had more than 400,000 people displaced at that time. so the latest displacement figures comes on top of that, so what we have is one crisis compounding another. these are desperate times, people taking what they can, what few possessions they are able to carry with them. many have fled north, heading to refugee camps like this one near the border with turkey. it's safer here, but these people have lost everything. each and every day is a struggle. translation: a lot of bombs targeted us and we didn't know where to go. we were searching for a car to take us away from the bombardment. we got out in the cold and rainy weather. we came here and they told us they would help us. now we're living in tents.

we can't keep living like this. syrian government forces, backed by russia, have been bombarding idlib, trying to win back control from the rebels — the last pockets of resistance in a war that's been raging for nearly nine years. these refugees desperate for peace and the chance to return home. tim allman, bbc news. russia says it has put into service the first batch of new strategic missiles that — it claims — can penetrate any existing orfuture missile shields. the avangard is what's known as a hypersonic glide vehicle which can steer an unpredictable course, making detection much harder. it's the latest move in what appears to be an escalating missile race with the united states. bill hayton reports. somewhere on the southern fringes of russia, close to the border with kazakhstan, a new era

in missile technology begins. this was a test launch last year of russia's new avangard weapon. it's fired into space atop an intercontinental ballistic missile. it can then glide over the atmosphere, dodging defences, until it reaches its target. translation: we have a unique situation in our recent history. other countries are having to catch—up with russia. no other country has hypersonic weapons — not to mention hypersonic weapons of intercontinental range. in truth, there are many such weapons — all intercontinental ballistic missiles travel many times faster than the speed of sound — but the russian military hopes its new system can give it an edge in a new arms race. a race that's putting pressure on the international arms control system built up over the past a0 years. in october, china displayed its own new hypersonic glide vehicle at a military parade in beijing.

the us wants chinese missiles included in a new intermediate range treaty, but it's not clear whether any government is willing to agree to new controls at the moment. bill hayton, bbc news. professor melanie marlowe is from the american think—tank the center for strategic and international studies. i asked her whether russia's president vladmir putin was correct when he said that the advance put russia in a class of its own. in a sense he is. the united states and other countries have been very far behind in this technology. we have been focused on counterterrorism the last two decades. and china, as your introduction noted, as well as russia, have been developing this kind of technology. so it's something the united states have started to make some advances on. we are currently investing in hypersonic strike but we are not as far along as the russians apparently are. if the us feels compelled to respond, are we now, on the cusp of 2020, on the cusp of a new arms race? i don't know that it's an arms race

but if it is an arms race, as i mentioned before, it's been a one—sided one as the united states has not been focusing on this. there are problems with this. we need to keep it in perspective, whether it's mach 27, as putin said today, or mach 20, that can do a lot of damage and we need to be ready for that. but the concern is that these weapons are highly manoeuvrable, they're very difficult to track and target and if one of these came towards us, what would the response be? there would be very little time for decision—making and would the united states respond in a nuclear or a conventional way? how does this innovation change the balance of power among nuclear—ca pable states, in particular with china in the same region is russia? this is a difficult problem to solve. of course, the united states and britain, we have allies in that region and we need to make sure that they're protected.

in my view, the threat really is regional but we need to be concerned about what is going on over there, not as concerned about a strike on the american homeland, but we need to make sure that our capabilities are strong. is the balance of power altered? it is in the sense that china or russia could easily attack one of our forward bases or an aircraft carrier, do a significant amount of damage and it would take a while for the united states to be able to respond. so as i mentioned before, it's notjust the offensive strike that we need to be concerned about, but the defence as well. will there be pressure in the united states for the american government to respond? we saw that in the earlier space race in the ‘60s and ‘70s. when one side did something, the other side said, right, we have to do something, at least to show our population that we're not sleeping. yes, and i think that's a bit of what putin has been doing today. he is happy to brag and have some bragging rights on this and i hope that pushes

the united states and our allies and partners in the direction of taking this threat seriously. the national defence strategy from 2018 recognises that we are back in great power competition, that we need to take the threats from russia and china, hypersonic and otherwise, seriously. our service chiefs, all of them, have been making suggestions and pushes towards developing more hypersonic technology as well as ways to respond to them — being more flexible and mobile and maybe looking at, should we have so many aircraft carriers or should we have other kind of platforms from which we can launch our missiles? dozens of passengers have survived a plane crash in kazakhstan in which 12 people lost their lives. the crash took place in heavy fog, although the cause isn't yet known. the khazak company bek air operated the plane, and it crashed shortly after taking off from kazakhstan‘s largest city almaty. it was en route to the capital nur—sultan with 100 passengers and crew on board.

of those, at least 60 people are being treated in hospital, as our correspondent sarah rainsford reports. rescued from the wreckage, a baby boy is rushed to safety. he was discovered in the arms of his injured mother after their flight crash—landed. moments after take—off, the plane had rammed intoa building. it broke into pieces on impact. but there were survivors, and some even walked away from this unharmed. i was sitting next to an emergency exit. just hours later, aslan nazaraliyev managed to tell me what happened. he'd posted this photo on social media, showing his seat on the flight from almaty. he thinks most in front of him were badly hurt or killed. the plane starts swaying, like a boat, very intensively. everybody starts screaming, kids are crying. and the lights were on in the plane but there was no sound, there was no instructions from the crew.

there was only the sound of people panicking in the plane. the businessman says it took at least 15 minutes for rescuers to arrive, so he and other survivors began pulling people to safety. it was dark, at the same time. we were lighting with cellphone lights, so helping out each other. so all of the guys were trying to take out people because there was a high risk of fire. what were you thinking when this was happening? thinking about my family. yeah, that's only what i was thinking. and helping people — that a fire should not kill who survived. the plane was a fokker 100 operated

by the low—cost carrier, bek air. its entire fleet has now been grounded while the crash is investigated. kazakhstan‘s government says the plane's tail hit the runway twice during take—off. the flight had barely got off the ground before it came crashing back down with terrible consequences that could have been even worse. sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. let's get some of the day's other news. authorities in hawaii say the've recovered the remains of six people from a tour helicopter that went missing on thursday. wreckage was found at a steep—sided valley near a state park on the island of kauai. the aircraft was carrying seven people, including the pilot. the local fire department said fog had caused recovery operations to be suspended for the day. more than 2,000 people have been taking shelter in evacuation centres across fiji as tropical cyclone sarai lashes the pacific island.

with winds gusting up to 140 kilometres an hour, sarai has brought down trees and cut power supplies, while thousands of holidaymakers were left stranded with the cancellation of dozens of flights. firefighters in australia are bracing themselves for more extreme heat as they continue to tackle uncontrolled bushfires. temperatures above a0 degrees celsius are expected in the coming days in several states including new south wales, south australia and victoria. deadly bushfires have destroyed more than four million hectares in five australian states since september. courtney bembridge reports. (tx vt) almost 3,000 firefighters have been working around the clock since the bushfire crisis started in september. many of them are volunteers who've given up their christmas break to try to contain the fires and to save homes. sporadic rain over parts of eastern australia has done little to help

extinguish the flames but firefighters have taken advantage of cooler temperatures in recent days to try and contain fire fronts. but the cool change won't last long. this is the forecast for monday, temperatures building up to 38 celsius or higher across most of the country. so that's going to elevate fire dangers, and we know the winds are going to start turning around to the west and the north—west, which is why so much work has been going on over this last week while conditions are more mild. the crucial work involves strengthening containment lines to stop the fire spreading and controlled back—burning of dry grass, which acts as a fire fuel. that's seen as a last resort — an indication of how desperate the situation is getting. in new south wales, there are more than 100 fires burning, the largest to the west of sydney. fires are also burning across south australia. in parts of the state, temperatures rose above a0 degrees celsius, marking the start

of a new wave of heat in the continent's south. over the past two weeks, hundreds of people in south australia have needed medical attention for heat—related illnesses. look out for the signs and symptoms that are generally associated with dehydration, and they include headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and, ultimately, potentially, collapse. authorities in new south wales are also worried about protecting water infrastructure, which could be damaged or contaminated by ash, including the warragamba dam, which supplies the majority of sydney's water — a city home to 5 million residents. what that means, when it does rain again, what sort of run—off will there be? what sort of siltation will there be? ash soil, all of that stuff getting into the waterways. the situation is also affecting tourism. visitors to a famous rock formation in the blue mountains took photographs in front of the sign after the real thing was obscured by smoke. i've always wanted to see the blue mountains so it's such a shame that, when we came, it looks like this.

a bit disappointed. we came into sydney and the first couple of days, there was a lot of smoke and smoke haze. it made us cough a little bit, especially at night. trade is way, way down. i'm doing about a third of what i would normally do at this time of year. i think that's the same for everyone. this is usually the busiest time of year for australia's tourism industry. and despite the hot conditions and smoke in sydney, more than1 million people are expected to attend the famous fireworks display for new year's eve. courtney bembridge, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: why drink—driving risks more than merely blurred vision — on the streets of paris. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro.

tomorrow in holland, we're going to use money we picked up in belgium today. and then we'll be in france and again, it will be the same money. it's just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his oxfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it was good. reporter: it was just good? no, fantastic. that's better! big ben bongs

this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: the un says parts of idlib province in syria are almost deserted, where nearly 250,000 people have fled from a government offensive. russia puts into service strategic missiles which it claims can travel 27 times the speed of sound. in india, protests are continuing over the country's new citizenship law, which grants amnesty to illegal migrants from three countries — but only non—muslim ones. since it was passed, more than 20 people have died in clashes. most of them were from the northern state of uttar pradesh. the bbc‘s india correspondent yogita limaye reports from there. in kanpur, a policeman appears to fire a gun at protesters who were throwing stones. gunfire. in muzaffarnagar, those demonstrating are beaten, even an older man. in meerut, police break cctv cameras mounted on shops in a muslim locality.

nearly a week since clashes broke out in the state of uttar pradesh over india's new citizenship law, videos have been emerging that raise serious questions about police behaviour against muslim protesters. shouting. gunshot. 19 have died in the state, all civilians. most had bullet injuries, like mohammed mohsin. his mother says he wasn't part of the protests, but had gone out to buy fodder when he was shot in the chest. the 28—year—old was the father of this baby. "we want justice. the police killed my son," she told me. "who will care for his children now?" police say they didn't open fire. they claim some among the protesters had guns.

but that's not all security forces are being accused of. i went to one of the homes allegedly vandalised by the police in the dead of the night. in room after room, hardly anything left unbroken. there was jewellery in this box and cash in the tin. it was all stolen, i'm told. "there were many policemen and some people in plain clothes. they told us to go from here and that our house would soon become theirs," she says. "so what if i am a muslim? don't i have a right to live in india?" in every locality, we were told of homes that had been ransacked. many here see the police action, and the law, as part of the ruling party's hindu nationalist agenda.

the government insist indian muslims won't be affected by the new citizenship rules, and it's blamed protesters for the violence. translation: there were 50,000 people on the streets throwing stones, shooting, setting things on fire. the police had to respond. and to catch miscreants, they had to go inside people's homes. things break sometimes in a scuffle. what they've witnessed over the past two weeks has left many from the muslim community here worried about what kind of future they're facing in india. the government is trying to allay fears about the new citizenship law, but even before that's implemented, the handling of the protests has already had a tangible impact on the ground. religious polarisation has deepened. many areas of the state are now a tinderbox of fear and anger. yogita limaye, bbc

news, uttar pradesh. chile's president sebastian pinera has set a referendum for the 26th of april, to decide whether or not the country's constitution should be changed. he's agreed to the vote after more than two months of anti—government protests. a warning — this report from the bbc‘s cecilia barria contains distressing images. sirens wail. weeks of violence have scarred santiago. the main square is called ground zero, the metro system is burnt, and the human cost of this crisis is clear. translation: we can't go out on the streets, so i come home crying. i live a block away from the main square and see the destruction at night. it's dark, there's no lights. it's terrible. graffiti is used to express anger.

people feel the police are targeting them but many, like this young man, are scared to show their face and speak out. translation: they grabbed me and squeezed my testicles. i was punched in the face and kicked. they beat me with the — i don't know if it was a gun handle. i was beaten by many members of the police. this is the home of daniel. hola, daniel. hola. he's one more than 100 protesters who have been blinded by security forces. he's telling me hejoined the protests a week ago. he believes he was targeted by security forces and he was hit by a tear gas canister. right now, he cannot work and he has lost his eye. translation: we looked away and covered our eyes so we would not get shot. then i stood up and i looked

towards the policeman and i felt it hit me. he shot right at my eye. they no longer shoot to warn you, but to hurt you. the financial cost is also taking a toll. the unrest has already cost businesses more than $1.5 billion. many have closed and those who have escaped the looting are struggling. carlos is the third generation of his family to run this shop. it has been open since 1935 and has survived hard times before, but he thinks it may be hard to continue. translation: economically, things are terrible. it's just like a war. at this point, i have a lot of staff working for me, but i think it will be too complicated for me to keep them.

while the authorities try to return the country back to normal, it's clear chile has changed, and there may be no turning back. cecilia barria, bbc news, santiago, chile. new year celebrations are just days away and drivers in france are being given some unusual road safety lessons. more than three—quarters of french people will drink alcohol on new year's eve, but how many will have thought about how they're going to get home? russell trott reports. is the season to be jolly. and, for new year's celebrations, there is nowhere quite like paris. what isn't so nowhere quite like paris. what isn't so much fun is how to get home afterwards. in france, it is estimated that around 87% of the population will have a drink on new year's eve. with many revellers drink driving and putting themselves and often family and friends lives

at risk. and, as this simulation shows, driving while intoxicated is not easy. translation: when i wear the glasses, i think i am on the road. iam the glasses, i think i am on the road. i am in fact nowhere near it. drivers are shown how it feels to be behind the wheel after drinking alcohol and how it affects not only co—ordination but, crucially, reaction times. translation: when you look at someone doing the route you look at someone doing the route you can really get the impression that they are drunk because they have difficulty grasping things, making movements, moving around on the road. it is really the effect of alcohol. with the aid of the goggles, campaigners say they want drivers to see that drinking and driving simply do not mix. russell trott, bbc news. more on all of our stories on our

website. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @jamesbbcnews. hello there. saturday morning is getting off to a mild but rather cloudy and murky start in many parts of the uk. it's going to stay mild throughout the weekend. in fact, by sunday, some spots could get up to 1a or 15 degrees. it should slowly turn a little brighter as well but there will always be some rain at times towards the north—west. this is the earlier satellite picture. and what we've had is a moist south—westerly flow across the british isles bringing a lot of cloud, some mist, some murk, some drizzle, and the thicker cloud up to the north—west associated with this waving frontal system here, which will continue to feed rain into parts of northern ireland and scotland through the day ahead. so this is how saturday's weather shapes up. across england and wales, yes, a lot of cloud, mist and murk to start.

the odd spot of drizzle, but it should be basically a dry day. and i'm hopeful that cloud will break up to some extent — particularly across north wales, and merseyside and parts of north—east england. rain will feed into parts of northern ireland. some particularly heavy rain across western scotland. but for the north—east of scotland, with some shelter from the mountains, well, here has a fighting chance of seeing some brightness. and for the moray coast, we could see temperatures up to 13 degrees. but generally speaking, 10, 11 or 12 — that is above where we should be at this time of year. now, during saturday night, it stays wet — at least for a time — across the west and north of scotland. further south, northern ireland, england and wales, predominantly cloudy, but an increasing chance of seeing some breaks in that cloud by the end of the night. it is going to be another mild night as well — temperatures typically between 7 and 10 degrees. and some really mild air is heading our way for sunday. this plume of orange here on the chart is heading towards the north—west of the country, and that is where we will see the highest of the temperatures. but at the same time, hopefully we will start to tap into this drier air to the south, which should allow us to break the cloud up a little bit and give us a bit more brightness.

sunday, still lots of cloud around — you can see some holes appearing in that cloud. there is a chance of some spells of sunshine across england and northern wales, also northern ireland and southern and eastern scotland. a bit of rain to the far north—west, where it also stays breezy. look at the temperatures. the north coast of northern ireland, the north—east coast of scotland, 1a or 15 degrees. it will turn a little bit cooler as we head into the start of next week and, indeed, the final couple of days of 2019, particularly in northern areas. those temperatures back down into single digits, closer to where they should be this time of year. and further south, after a very mild monday, it will turn a little bit cooler as we get into tuesday. and then during tuesday night, if you are celebrating on new year's eve, it should stay mostly dry. it will be fairly chilly and there could be some patchy fog.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the united nations says nearly 250,000 people have been forced from their homes this month because of fierce fighting in idlib province in syria. the town of maarat al—numan is reported to be all but deserted and the main highway heading north has been packed with vehicles. russia says it has put into service the first batch of new strategic missiles that it claims can penetrate any existing or future missile shields. the avangard is what's known as a hypersonic glide vehicle which can steer an unpredictable course, making detection much harder. dozens of passengers have survived a plane crash in kazakhstan in which 12 people lost their lives. the crash took place in heavy fog, although the cause isn't yet known. the khazak company bek air operated the plane, and it crashed shortly after taking off from kazakhstan‘s largest city almaty.