this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm annita mcveigh. our top stories: at least 68 people are confirmed dead after a passenger plane crashes in nepal — the search for survivors is called off for the night. everybody is confused because this pilot is one of the most experienced and well—respected pilots of nepal. at least 22 people are killed and 72 injured in a missile strike on an apartment building in the eastern ukrainian city of dnipro. police say they're working round the clock to find the gunmen behind yesterday's shooting in central london. a seven—year—old girl was left fighting for her life. labour leader sir keir starmer says he has "concerns" over the gender recognition legislation passed

in scotland last month, as he considers 16—year—olds too young to change their legal gender. president biden declares a state of emergency in california as it's hit by a succession of severe storms. at least 19 people have died and thousands have been told to evacuate their homes. hello and welcome. at least 68 people have been killed after a passenger plane crashed in nepal. the yeti airlines flight came down close to the tourist town of pokhara. the search has now been called off for the night and will resume on monday in daylight. it's understood a number of foreign nationals are among the dead. from kathmandu, our correspondent rajini vaidyanathan sent this report.

and a warning — you may find some of the images distressing. what is thought to be the final moments of yeti airlines flight 691. first you see it veer off course. then, you hear it. the smouldering remains of the twin engine plane which had 72 people onboard, including children. it came down close to its destination. the tourist town of pokhara. most of those onboard were nepalis. chaos and confusion as people searched for survivors. speaking in the capital, nepal's prime minister says the authorities are trying to work out how this crash happened. translation: the incident- was tragic, all forces have been deployed for rescue operations, the investigation is going on now, and i have called an emergency cabinet meeting.

the plane took off from here at kathmandu airport earlier this morning. tomorrow, the bodies of some of the victims are expected to return back here. monday has also been declared a national day of mourning in nepal. it is unclear still what caused the crash. but this himalayan nation has a tragic history of fatal airline accidents. as a nation mourns, some are asking if enough is being done to ensure the country's skies are safe. tonight, as families grieve, they also want answers. kathmandu—based journalist surendra phuyal gave me the latest. investigations are continuing. they have just started. the government has formed a probe panel which has 45 days to investigate the exact reason why this plane crashed. eyewitnesses at the site, near the site, there was a lady, for example.

11 o'clock in the morning, she was doing her clothes, cleaning her clothes outside in a very traditionalfashion near the banks of the river, which flows through a deep gorge, and over her head she suddenly sees an aircraft and it just tilts towards her, goes down and then crashes into the gorge and there is a big noise — boom — and then there are people who hear that, they are suddenly nervous and they start crying. there was another eyewitness we followed this afternoon. he was also enjoying the morning sun at 11 o'clock in the morning, and he also was a witness to that crash, and he suddenly sees the plane

losing its balance, stalling and then tilting to one side and then crashing into the gorge. and then a big bang and he rushed to the scene. he spotted some survivors at that moment, thrown out of the aircraft, broken pieces, and thrown to the end of the gorge, and there he says he rushed and tried to help pull some survivors to the ambulance. and he says, he claims he sent seven of them to the ambulance one by one. so, it was quite tragic, quite unexpected, so many lives lost in an instant. interesting, what you were saying about that witness and his suggestion that there were initially at least survivors, because from other sources we have heard it is highly unlikely that there are now any survivors

after a crash such as this. more than 300 people have been in plane crashes in nepal since 2000, and as we mentioned in the introduction, nepalese airlines are banned from european union aerospace. what more can be done to improve the safety record of the industry, the airline industry, there? i was just reading a piece from a nepali doctor a little while ago, and he aptly suggested that we in the medical fraternity learn double—checking of everything, all equipment from aviation industry, and he was suggesting that nepal's aviation industry needs to redouble their efforts to double—check, do a list and double—check the machines, their procedures and everything in order to avoid such accidents, and i think that pretty much sums it up. former airline pilot terry tozer

told me that early signs suggest the aircraft may have stalled. it could be a whole host of things. it looks as though the aircraft stalled. that is to say at lower air speed, one of the wings stopped flying properly. they suddenly dipped the wing. why that happened is harder to say. i couldn't be clear, looking at the videos, whether or not the landing flaps were set. if they were not, that might account for the aircraft stalling, which it would not normally do. what can you tell us about this model of aircraft and the mountainous terrain in nepal? how tricky and difficult does that make flying conditions? it is a very challenging environment. if you look at that video, you have got clear

blue sky. there may have been some wind but i'm not sure if any of the normal things in a mountainous terrain would have been a factor. the man said earlier from nepal aviation that he had been there a couple of times already that day and would have been familiar with the airport and the conditions. it is perfectly possible that during this turn they had a problem which distracted them or cause to them handling problems, but the aircraft looks slow. the nose looks a bit high, and if it didn't have the flaps set, that is all a recipe for a stall, and at low level, they didn't have much time to recover. the questions raised after this crash about the amount of investment in new aircraft in nepal —

could that be an issue? i suppose it is always possible that there was a sudden mechanicalfault with the aircraft. it is a reliable aircraft. there are hundreds of them worldwide. they don't have any real issues. they have a good record. although i wouldn't want to point the finger at this particular crew, these type of accidents usually have a human element. it may have been prior to flight, it may have been the engineering, but it looks as if basically they got a bit slow and lost control of it. the reason why, of course, is the big question. more than 20 people have been killed and 72 injured after a missile destroyed an apartment building in the eastern ukrainian city of dnipro. a0 residents are still thought to be missing. 0ur ukraine correspondentjames waterhouse reports from kyiv.

dnipro has learned to cope with constant threat. being 120 miles from the front line isn't enough to escape moments like this. the cause is obvious — the damage, plain to see — but what disappears immediately are entire lives. the rescue continued as flames were put out and night arrived, as well as the realisation of what had happened. translation: what have you done to my son? - you're evil! i curse you and future generations of your families. may you animals be cursed for the rest of your lives by everyone! there is anger, and occasional hope. shouting. is anyone alive, ask rescuers? answering shouts. "here, here," they shout.

the crane shut down. "lady, we can hear you," they say. today has brought more breakthroughs, but the number of dead will go up with time. dnipro is a reminder of how ordinary people can end up in harm's way, despite russia's likely target being nearby infrastructure. this was nevertheless an attack on the whole of the country. after a relative respite of two weeks, moscow has resumed its tactic of trying to deny ukrainians energy during the height of winter. there were blackouts across ukraine, including here in the western lviv region. in a sign of his unchanged position, the country's leader says russia can only be stopped on the battlefield. translation: it can and must be done on our land, _ in our sky, in our sea. what we do we need for this? the weapons which are in the depots of our partners, the ones which our troops are waiting for.

the rescue of a woman this morning brought more much—needed good news, against a backdrop of continued devastation. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. the destruction in aniro comes alongside calls for more weapons to be sent. nato chiefjens stoltenberg has said ukraine could expect more deliveries of heavy weapons from western countries. the uk is sending 14 challenger tanks while poland is also considering handing over its german—made leopard 2 tanks but it needs the german government's permission to export them. let's speak to rafael loss, a defense expert at the european council on foreign relations, who joins us from berlin.( welcome. germany has sent anti—missile systems to ukraine, but why has it so far resisted sending heavier weapons? for why has it so far resisted sending heavier weapons?— why has it so far resisted sending heavier weapons? for the longest time,

heavier weapons? for the longest time. there _ heavier weapons? for the longest time, there was _ heavier weapons? for the longest time, there was a _ heavier weapons? for the longest time, there was a red _ heavier weapons? for the longest time, there was a red line - heavier weapons? for the longest time, there was a red line around | time, there was a red line around western produced tanks and armoured vehicles. with the latest decision to send german equipment, there seems to be an open door, and some of germany's neighbours who also use the leopard 2 battle tank see this as an opportunity to finally make available to ukraine this critical capability. available to ukraine this critical ca abili . , ., , capability. interesting that it is the greens. — capability. interesting that it is the greens, members - capability. interesting that it is the greens, members of- capability. interesting that it is the greens, members of the l capability. interesting that it is - the greens, members of the coalition in germany, who are saying germany should do more? the in germany, who are saying germany should do more?— in germany, who are saying germany should do more? the greens, but we have also heard _ should do more? the greens, but we have also heard from _ should do more? the greens, but we have also heard from the _ should do more? the greens, but we have also heard from the two - should do more? the greens, but we have also heard from the two other. have also heard from the two other coalition parties. experts in the three parties and opposition figures have four months called for germany to do more in support of ukraine, including delivering battle tanks such as the leopard. it is not only the greens that push the chancellor,

but this domestic coalition is certainly being supported by international calls for the chancellor to move his position. i5 chancellor to move his position. is there a feeling now in germany that there a feeling now in germany that there is a higher probability of ukraine winning this fight? i think the meeting _ ukraine winning this fight? i think the meeting of— ukraine winning this fight? i think the meeting of the _ ukraine winning this fight? i think the meeting of the ukraine - ukraine winning this fight? i think i the meeting of the ukraine defence contact group at ramstein air base next week is an important point. the polish government have said they will provide tanks if other countriesjoin them. will provide tanks if other countries join them. voices from finland, denmark and other european countries are chiming in here. then we have the german political figures that are pushing the debate in germany. the pressure is mounting on the chancellor to revise his decision. his mantra has been not to go it alone in these decisions. if

there is a european coalition emerging, german leadership would well be placed to bring together this coalition and supply ukraine with a western produced main battle tank. to with a western produced main battle tank. ., .., , with a western produced main battle tank. ., _, , , tank. to confirm, is it highly likely that — tank. to confirm, is it highly likely that germany - tank. to confirm, is it highly likely that germany will - tank. to confirm, is it highly likely that germany will give | tank. to confirm, is it highly - likely that germany will give poland permission to export the german—made tanks poland has to ukraine? i think indeed the chances _ tanks poland has to ukraine? i think indeed the chances are _ tanks poland has to ukraine? i think indeed the chances are increasing i indeed the chances are increasing that that will be the case by friday. that that will be the case by frida . . ~' , ., , that that will be the case by frida . . ~' ,, , . that that will be the case by frida . . ~ , . ., that that will be the case by frida. . , . ., friday. thank you very much for your thou~hts friday. thank you very much for your thoughts on — friday. thank you very much for your thoughts on that. _ here in the uk, the metropolitan police says those behind yesterday's shooting in central london fired a shotgun from inside a moving car. it happened near euston station, outisde a church where a memorial service for a young woman and her mother had just taken place. a seven—year—old girl suffered life—threatening injuries and five other people were also hurt. superintendent jack rowlands gave an update on the investigation.

pack had a moment of love stolen by an act of hate. gunshots outside this church induced an injured four women two young girls. 0ne aged just sevenis women two young girls. 0ne aged just seven is in a life—threatening condition. 0ne seven is in a life—threatening condition. one woman has potentially life changing injuries. minutes earlier, around 300 people had remembered the lives of local mama —— —— a local mother and daughter who sadly died less than a month apart. i who sadly died less than a month a art. . , who sadly died less than a month aart, ., , , who sadly died less than a month aart. ., , , , who sadly died less than a month aart. . , , , . . apart. i was still inside the church when suddenly — apart. i was still inside the church when suddenly there _ apart. i was still inside the church when suddenly there was - apart. i was still inside the church when suddenly there was this - when suddenly there was this enormous bang and people who were leaving the church just rushed back in and said there had been a shooting. in and said there had been a shooting-— in and said there had been a shootinu. ~ . ., shooting. the met police have released more _ shooting. the met police have released more information - shooting. the met police have i released more information about shooting. the met police have - released more information about the attack which happened here outside of the church behind me at 1:30pm on saturday. they said the victims were injured by pellets from a shot gun fired, they believe, from a moving vehicle. police believe this is the kind of car involved, a moving vehicle. police believe this is the kind of car involved, 2019 black toy all to see hr. this was a shock ——

toyota chr. all to see hr. this was a shock -- toyota chit-— toyota chr. this was a shocking shootinu. toyota chr. this was a shocking shooting. people _ toyota chr. this was a shocking shooting. people came - toyota chr. this was a shocking shooting. people came to - toyota chr. this was a shocking | shooting. people came to attend toyota chr. this was a shocking l shooting. people came to attend a funeral and be with friends and loved ones and mourn together. instead, they were the victims of a senseless act of violence. ida senseless act of violence. no arrests have _ senseless act of violence. no arrests have been made but tonight officers continue a search for evidence and answers. the met police say they will increase their presence in the area. the labour leader sir keir starmer says he believes 16—year—olds are too young to change their legally—recognised gender. he said he had concerns about the scottish government's planned reforms of the law to allow a change to happen without the need for a medical diagnosis. but sir keir stopped short of saying labour would join rishi sunak�*s government in a challenge to the scottish legislation. 0ur political correspondent david wallace—lockhart has the story. what do we want? trans rights! when do we want them? now! members of the scottish parliament backed controversial legislation last month, making it easierfor someone to change their legal gender

and lowering the age limit from 18 to 16. labour members at holyrood backed the changes, but this morning, the party's uk leader expressed reservations about the bill. i do have concerns about, one, the age of transition, reduced now to 16, and we've put amendments forward in relation to that, and also the primacy of the equality act. you would not agree you are old enough at the age of 16? no, i don't think you are. you don't think you are at 16. ok, that's clear. the uk government takes the same view. they could yet decide to block the scottish legislation, and ministers are awaiting final legal advice. there are trans people who have suffered discrimination and want their rights respected, but, equally, i've listened very carefully to the concerns that many women have had about worries that they've got about risks to their safety. but another senior tory mp accused some colleagues of using the issue as a battering ram.

my committee has taken private evidence from individuals, from trans people, and listening to their struggles, listening to the discrimination and the abuse that they have faced, i absolutely believe we have to make the process simpler and kinder, but i really fear the use of this as some sort of woke culture war to sow division. the leader of the snp, stephen flynn. - the snp's westminster leader has warned uk ministers not to block scotland's gender recognition reform bill. what we have is a right—wing uk conservative government which is seeking to roll back on the democratic powers of the scottish parliament. that's an outrage, and the people that should be most outraged about that are the likes of the conservative and labour politicians who voted in favour of the grr, who must recognise the fact that this is the uk parliament overstepping massively. the scottish gender legislation had plenty of opponents on its parliamentary journey. the uk government blocking the bill

would be a watershed moment in devolution's history. they have to make a decision by the middle of this week. david wallace lockhart, bbc news. more nurses will be asked to strike next month in a dispute over pay. that's the warning from the royal college of nursing, which says the next set of strikes will include all eligible members in england for the first time, unless progress is made in negotiations by the end of the month. earlier alanjones, the industrial correspondent for pa gave us this update. there are more meetings this week, but this is a very slow train, if you like. there were meetings last week, there have been about 100 hours of talks last year, and we are kind of not much further forward, to be honest. the only positive thing is that no more strikes have been called yet, and the unions have to give two weeks' notice before there was a strike so there is definitely

a window. having said that, the train drivers' union, aslef, is having a meeting of its executive tomorrow. i'm pretty sure they will turn down the offer they have had, and it will be up to them to decide if they want to have more strikes or not, so this dispute is definitely not, so this dispute is definitely not over yet, and the transport secretary has facilitated meetings and has been saying that for a while. yes, there are meetings but there was definitely no breakthrough yet. there was definitely no breakthrough et. ., ., 4' . . there was definitely no breakthrough et. ., ., ., yet. looking at health and the nurses' strike, _ yet. looking at health and the nurses' strike, there - yet. looking at health and the nurses' strike, there was - yet. looking at health and the nurses' strike, there was a - yet. looking at health and the nurses' strike, there was a lotj yet. looking at health and the i nurses' strike, there was a lot of speculation that there is disagreement within government over the need to give nurses higher pay, with reports of the health secretary being minded to support them in that call. that said, what do you think will happen with the nhs, with nurses specifically? the will happen with the nhs, with nurses specifically?— will happen with the nhs, with nurses specifically? the rcn has two da s of nurses specifically? the rcn has two days of strikes _ nurses specifically? the rcn has two days of strikes this _ nurses specifically? the rcn has two days of strikes this week. _ nurses specifically? the rcn has two days of strikes this week. the - nurses specifically? the rcn has two days of strikes this week. the gmb l days of strikes this week. the gmb union has a meeting tomorrow. they might well call more strikes among

their ambulance members. the rcn are saying the next strike in early february will be bigger than this week's strike. all of that, i think, just shows how frustrated the health unions are. we keep getting these rumours, neveranything unions are. we keep getting these rumours, never anything said on the record, that the health secretary wanted to give the nurses are one of payment, a suggestion that maybe next year's pay rise could be brought forward to january so nurses and other health workers get more money now, but nothing is ever put on the table, so the unions go into these meetings and come out feeling more confused than ever, to be honest. so, again, no breakthrough on the health dispute and there will be more strikes called, i think, unless there is a change of tune, if you like, probably from the government. most of these disputes now i think are down to the government to move on.

a major disaster has been declared in california where a series of severe storms has prompted president biden —— to send aid from the federal government. at least 19 people have died in the storms. 0ur correspondent sophie long reports from the hills above santa barbara. frantic efforts to protect homes from further flooding. if we didn't get this done today, we would have lost our house. jeff bailey's wife and young children evacuated. he stayed to protect their home. it's been hard. my wife has been bringing them over, up at the top of the hill, and i've been giving them hugs and kisses and telling them how much i love them. but, you know, we all have to process it. sorry, it's the first time i have become emotional. so, yeah, you know. we're safe, we're surviving and we'lljust keep going forward. across california, after three weeks of almost continuous catastrophic downpours, rain is the last thing people here need.

and yet, it keeps coming. widespread flooding is getting worse, and roads are disintegrating. emergency services could only watch as this one collapses into the valley below. we joined the santa barbara bucket brigade, a local volunteerforce formed after a mudslide killed 23 people here five years ago. what's happened here? just all came down off here. this is the road. this is the road to my mom's house, she can't get home. you can see the impact of the heavy deluges here. this road has been completely cut off. people cannot access their homes. the rains have now started again, after a brief period of respite, and there's concern that more is going to come down. they were west of us. the threat of mudslides means they need to move quickly. the next stop is steve's house. that was a pretty hairy drive by my standards. so this tree i planted, 26 years ago it was this tall.

and it is the only tree to survive this. the whole thing just slid down, this is about 200 feet wide. you know, you kind of get overwhelmed with a series of emotional things, which go from hope to pride to fear, to despair, to all of that stuff, but at the end of the day, you know, we are a resilient lot up here, and we know what to do. so this is what we're doing today. a saturated california can only wait to see what he the next storm brings. sophie long, bbc news, santa barbara. we leave with you news of a life changing sum of money — someone in the us us now 1.3 billion—dollars richer, after winning the second biggestjackpot in american history. the winner — who hasn't been named — has the option of taking a lump—sum payment of 723 million dollars or an annual payment for 30 years.

iamon i am on twitter. you are watching bbc news. hello. much colder weather on the way for all of us in the week ahead. we have seen so much rain so far this january, it will become relatively drier, but arctic air plunges across the uk in the coming 24 plunges across the uk in the coming 2a hours, and it will look different outside. it will be drier and it will feel much different because it will feel much different because it will be cold. snow is a possibility for some this week. despite thing being drier, we are trying to pin down smaller systems like this one that will run through the channel overnight tonight, and the detail on what they will do. tonight it looks pretty wet for southern counties of england, but a different mixture —— difficult mixture, especially in the

south—east towards the end of the night, where we could see some snow to start monday, and a significant risk of ice. ice just about anywhere as we expect a widespread frost, and snow showers will continue in scotland into monday as well. some parts of scotland won't get above freezing through the day, everywhere else is much chillier than of late. but with lighter winds. into tuesday, the same thing. a weather feature developing within a bigger area of low pressure running the show. 0r area of low pressure running the show. or was trickier to pin down these smaller features. don't take these smaller features. don't take the positioning of the snow too literally. it is shifting a little as we move from model to model. the smaller features don't exist within this big low yet, so it is hard to track them until they start to shape up. by wednesday, our uncertainty will be this low to that used in the north sea and whether it will drag any snow showers into the north sea

coast. current thinking, snow showers across scotland and running down into the irish sea. a lot of fine weather, with bright crisp blue skies. at the end of the week, potentially we look more to the west for our weather systems. the potential for things to turn to rain ljy potential for things to turn to rain by friday and for us to see temperatures lifting a little as we approach next weekend. in terms of the coming five days, elements we are confident about — it will be cold with frosty nights. look out forice. cold with frosty nights. look out for ice. pinning detail on the snow, stay with us and stay tuned.

this is bbc news, the headlines the search for survivors of a plane crash in nepal has been called off for the night. the aircraft was carrying seventy—two passengers, at least sixty—eight are now confirmed dead. at least 22 people have been killed and 72 injured during a missile strike on an apartment building in the eastern ukrainian city of dnipro. the mayor of the city says there is little hope of finding more survivors. a 7 year old girl has life threatening injuries after a suspected drive by shooting outside a memorial service in london. police have described it as �*shocking' and �*senseless'. labour leader, sir keir starmer, says he has "concerns" over the gender recognition legislation passed in scotland last month, as he considers 16—year—olds too young to change their legal gender.