live from london. this is bbc news. hamas says its deputy head saleh al—arouri has been killed in an explosion in beirut. japan's prime minister confirms that five coastguard crew have been killed in a collision between two planes at tokyo's haneda airport. all 379 passengers and crew managed to escape the japan airlines aircraft — before it was engulfed by flames. searching for survivors — japanese officials say at least 48 people have died and many others are trapped beneath rubble after monday's powerful earthquake. weather warnings are in place for large parts of england and most of wales, as storm henk brings strong winds and heavy rain.

hello, i'm ben thompson, welcome to the programme. we begin with a developing story — hamas says its deputy head saleh al—arouri has been killed in a blast in beirut, in lebanon. local media have described the explosion as an israeli drone attack on the hamas office in the south of the city. reports say five other people were killed in the blast. video footage shows a car in flames and damage to buildings in a busy residential area known as a hezbollah stronghold. the israeli military has told the bbc it will not comment the israeli military said whoever did this it was a surgical strike against hamas leadership.

we did reach out to them after local media as you mentioned, attributed this blast to an israeli drone attack, we reached out to the idf who came back to the bbc and said they would not comment on reports from foreign media. we did get confirmation that saleh al?arouri, the deputy head, or deputy chairman of hamas�* political bureau has been killed in this blast, and we've had reaction from lebanon's caretaker prime minister, he described the blast as a new israeli war crime that aims to drag lebanon into a new phase of the conflict, according to what he said. we also got this line just now from mark ray give, adviser to benjamin netanyahu, he was speaking to msnbc and said israel did not take response ability for the attack, but," whoever did it was

not an attack on lebanese state, whoever did it it was a surgical strike against the hamas leadership, confirming their that a senior hamas official has been killed in this blast". i think it's very significant, and its important to consider who was killed and where he was killed. he was killed in the southern district that was seen as a hezbollah stronghold. saleh al?arouri himself is very involved in hamas�* military structure, he was one of the people who formed the brigades, the military wing of hamas, so this is a very hamas senior official. killed in a hezbollah stronghold. senior official. killed in a hezbollah stronuhold. , . , ., hezbollah stronghold. yes, and you mentioned this _ hezbollah stronghold. yes, and you mentioned this as _ hezbollah stronghold. yes, and you mentioned this as well, _ hezbollah stronghold. yes, and you mentioned this as well, there - hezbollah stronghold. yes, and you mentioned this as well, there will l mentioned this as well, there will be a lot of nervousness as well, we've talked about this before, for

this potential for this we've talked about this before, for this potentialfor this israel we've talked about this before, for this potential for this israel gaza conflict to escalate beyond the borders of israel and gaza. this could be a sign that this is happening. he touched on that from the idf, the authorities there, that it being a targeted strike and it will make a lot of people very nervous that this crisis is spreading. it nervous that this crisis is spreading-— nervous that this crisis is sreadin. . ~ ., ., nervous that this crisis is sreadina. w ., ., ., spreading. it will make a lot of --eole spreading. it will make a lot of peeple very — spreading. it will make a lot of people very nervous, - spreading. it will make a lot of| people very nervous, especially spreading. it will make a lot of. people very nervous, especially of course in lebanon. if what you can read, the lebanese prime minister is accusing israel of dragging lebanon into this conflict, and also, remember, as you say, israel has not taken responsibility for this attack. but the timing of it, this comes as the northern border between israel and lebanon has been heating up israel and lebanon has been heating up quite a bit with a continued exchange of fire, with very, very strong rhetoric from the israeli leadership whether it's benjamin netanyahu, ora leadership whether it's benjamin netanyahu, or a war cabinet minister or the defence minister, they all ratchet up the rhetoric that

hezbollah is not going to be limited and pull back from the border, that israel is going to do it. we cannot draw a direct line between what is happening on the border and this, but the timing of it makes this extremely volatile right now in the region. there are big questions about the implications of the conflict escalating to the wider region. for more on this, i spoke to middle east analyst at the rane network, ryan bohl. what's notable is that this is the first far—away—from—the—front—line assassination of a hamas leader that we've seen in this current war. we've seen israel threaten to carry out something of a munich—style retaliation against hamas as a whole, wherever they might be. and this is the first sign of that, again, away from the front lines. yes. and the idf and the israeli authorities have been very clear here that the purpose of this war, this crisis, has been to decapitate hamas ability to wage war against israel. this certainly seems that they are doing just that.

so to a certain extent, this is a setback for hamas organisationally, but they're always going to have replacements for that. and israel knows that. the israeli goals, by carrying out these kinds of strikes, are to induce surrenders from other hamas leaders elsewhere, to deter them from carrying out further attacks against israel, and even possibly to create diplomatic space for some sort of negotiations that might allow israel to de—escalate the situation in gaza. now, i was talking to our correspondent there about the nervousness that many will have about this crisis escalating beyond the borders of both israel and gaza, and talked to him about this happening in lebanon. we assume these are just reports from local media, but if this deputy of hamas was in that area of beirut, it is a significant escalation, as you touched on, because it is beyond those borders. that's right. however, this is still a compartmentalised escalation. this is still an attack against hamas rather than a senior hezbollah figure, which would put us on to

a different escalation ladder. and it does give hezbollah some options as to how they might choose to retaliate. they could escalate by increasing their attacks on the border zone of northern israel — they can fire a lot more rockets and mortars into that area. they could allow hamas to carry out long range strikes from lebanon against israeli cities, or they could choose to do something more symbolic — carry out rhetorical attacks on israel — without necessarily changing the military equation, because, after all, hezbollah still isn't incentivised to carry out a full scale war against israel at this time. now, as our correspondent was also telling us, the idf are not taking responsibility for this at this stage, but they suggest it was a very targeted strike, an assassination, as you've explained. what does this tell us as well about perhaps the escalation of people that israel see as enemies beyond those borders, in perhaps more friendly countries? i'm thinking of places like turkey or qatar, if there are targets

that they see there. does this indicate anything about an escalation? so it does, but it's a covert escalation. israel would prefer to carry out a large, regionwide covert escalation against hamas wherever they might be, and in that way it would mirror what they're doing in syria, where it's been a long—running war by their air force against the iranians and their militias in that country without escalating to regionwide war. that's what they would prefer. and this is the first sign of them carrying out an operation like that. now, as you noted, hamas isn'tjust in lebanon and syria and iran. it's also in pro—western countries, including places where they're not tolerated, likejordan, and places they are tolerated, like turkey and in qatar. and what we don't know right now is whether or not israel is going to take the risk of carrying out targeted assassinations in those pro—western countries, the way we saw them carry out an attack or an assassination on a hamas commander in dubai back in 2010.

in japan, where five coastguard crew have been killed in a collision between their plane and a japan airlines passengerjet at tokyo's haneda airport. all of the 379 passengers and crew on board ajapan airlines plane had a miraculous escape when it became engulfed in flames after a collision with a smaller coastguard aircraft as it came in to land in tokyo. but five of the six people on board the other plane were killed. they had been preparing to deliver aid to people affected by the powerful earthquake injapan the day before. from tokyo — suranjana tewari reports. the moment a japan airlines passenger plane skids down the tarmac at tokyo's haneda airport, after a collision with a smaller plane operated by japan's coastguard. chaos and confusion follows, as smoke can be seen billowing from an engine.

amateur video from inside the cabin shows passengers looking on in panic. more than 370 passengers and crew managed to escape unharmed. 0n—board safety procedures appear to have worked. the plane had taken off from sapporo on hokkaido island in northern japan. the coastguard says its plane was travelling to ishikawa prefecture, the epicentre of a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck just over 2a hours earlier. it was going to deliver food and help with rescue operations. what first seemed to be a small blaze on the passenger plane quickly took hold and overwhelmed the aircraft.

translation: i could only see the fire in the engine. - after we calmly got off the plane and went to a place far from the aircraft, i saw that the fire had spread in only about 10, 15 minutes. translation: i can only say it was a miracle. - we could have died if we didn't evacuate at that point. given the size of the japan airlines plane and the number of passengers and crew on board, it's really miraculous that so many managed to escape unharmed, on that plane at least. we now understand that on the plane operated by the coastguard, five people have died who were on that plane, with one person managing to escape. japan is known for its incredibly strong transport safety record. translation: we will work with the transport ministry. to determine the cause of the accident. the scene needs to be preserved for that, but we'll try to get airport operations going as quickly as possible.

it's not clear what caused the collision, but authorities are likely to take the investigation seriously and work to improve procedures. let's speak to tim atkinson, who is a former aircraft accident investigator. what is your assessment about where this investigation now goes? what will be the process in the coming days? will be the process in the coming da s? �* , , will be the process in the coming das? h ., ., will be the process in the coming das? h i, ., ., ., ., days? it's very straightforward and very routine- _ days? it's very straightforward and very routine. first, _ days? it's very straightforward and very routine. first, it's _ days? it's very straightforward and very routine. first, it's a _ days? it's very straightforward and very routine. first, it's a matter. very routine. first, it's a matter of establishing what evidence needs to be gathered, then going at it as rapidly as possible. evidence has quite a short half—life. as we seen, an awful lot of available sources of video and audio recording, that will be very helpful, particularly looking at the evacuation. but more

importantly, it's the investigation into the circumstances before all those images were created. the circumstances which led to one aircraft on the approach, and then on its lending, encountering a second aircraft, colliding with it with these catastrophic consequences. that investigation will need to be very thorough, wide—ranging, it will need to consider not only the immediate causal factors but also underlying was as well. it will need to look at things from different perspectives, professed perspective of the can crew members on board, from each aircraft and professionals in air traffic control as well who were on duty at the time. i traffic control as well who were on duty at the time.— duty at the time. i want to come to the evacuation _ duty at the time. i want to come to the evacuation in _ duty at the time. i want to come to the evacuation in a _ duty at the time. i want to come to the evacuation in a second - duty at the time. i want to come to the evacuation in a second time, i duty at the time. i want to come to l the evacuation in a second time, but as you've touched on what those investigators will look at, there is a horrible irony that this plane was involved, a coastguard plane was trying to deliver aid to those affected by the earthquake in another part ofjapan. affected by the earthquake in another part of japan. five of those crewmembers we now know have died.

the airport though, saying it was slotting in emergency earthquake response flights, in between existing flights. so trying to use that runway more efficiently to get more flights to take off and land on that same runway rather than, perhaps, giving those emergency flights priority. is that normal procedure?— flights priority. is that normal rocedure? ~ . ., , procedure? while, clearly, when there is some _ procedure? while, clearly, when there is some kind _ procedure? while, clearly, when there is some kind of— procedure? while, clearly, when there is some kind of effort - procedure? while, clearly, when| there is some kind of effort under way to help people or to cope with some kind of disaster, it puts stress and strain on those involved, and put stress and strain on the systems within their working, such as the urban transport system. however a coastguard crew would be used to working on short in situations where there is pressure of that kind, and it would be most surprising if any corners were being cut there. equally, it would not be the case, i'm absolutely certain, that corners were being cut anywhere else in order to, you know, get emergency efforts under way. that's not how commercial air transport

works, either in the airport environment or the air traffic control environment or the professional flight deck environment. it's not the level where safety standards would be cut in order to get an aid flight on the way. the background, it pressure to achieve things is there, the traffic situation was clearly busy and complex, but it's a busy and complex airport, this isn't out of the ordinary. and i'm sure investigators will consider those things, but i would expect that the ideology, the history, the sequence of events leading to this collision would be one which one might see anywhere else, one that doesn't have its roots in the unusual situation concerning an aid flight going to rescue those disaster, or provide aid to those disaster victims. he has, aid to those disaster victims. he has. let's _ aid to those disaster victims. he has, let's talk to about the evacuation as well, it's absolutely

astonishing. the smoke and the flames that engulfed that plane, all 379 crew and passengers were able to get off that airliner safely. it is remarkable, isn't it? that no one was seriously injured on the passenger plane.— was seriously injured on the passenger plane. was seriously injured on the ”assener lane. ~ �* , ., , ., passenger plane. we've seen lots of sensational images _ passenger plane. we've seen lots of sensational images about _ passenger plane. we've seen lots of sensational images about the - sensational images about the aircraft seriously alike, of it feeling structurally and so forth, but it's very important to remember that those are some time after the evacuation was completed. and i'm looking at images taken during the evacuation and after the evacuation, and they show a more or less intact airliner, where the hall hasn't been fundamentally breached as far as i can see, the conditions in the cabin are quite survivable, whether there is no fire in the cabin although there is some smoke, and where the evacuation from video i've seen taken by passengers appears, if anything, to be very methodical and

very ordered, and indeed, there seems to be no sense of rush there. that's something which as an investigator, i would be looking at because in evacuation does need to proceed at a suitable pace. it is excellent news that everybody left that aircraft in one piece. as we understand, it's equally important to the investigators to look at the things that went well that led to that very good outcome, as to look at other things. it was interesting apparently only three of the emergency exit doors and their accompanying escape slides were used, the nose of the aircraft was very low to the ground, the slides were at a very shallow angle and people were having to kind of screwed on them rather than falling down under gravity, whereas at the left door was a very steep angle. nevertheless a usable angle. this is all the things that the

investigators will focus on. a successful evacuation in terms of the occupants of the aircraft all having got out, it's equally clear the aircraft is a total disruptive loss. it's a composite aircraft, it will be a pile of fibres —— and some components by this time. but it was much more benign than it is in a bunch of the images that were featured in the media today. important distinction to him, really good to get your insight into this tonight. thank you. the president of harvard university has resigned after facing the president of harvard university has resigned afterfacing ongoing criticism over allegations of plagiarism and her handling of anti—semitism on campus. she had been criticised in recent months

after she declined to say unequivocably, calling for a genocide ofjewish people had violated harvard's conduct. she failed to cite sources properly in her academic works, so breaking news this hour the president of harvard university resigning. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a 46—year—old man in sheffield. the father of two was hit by a car while trying to help a stranger. the man who is 23 is remanded in custody. working parents in england can now apply for more help with childcare costs from today, eligible two—year—olds will receive 15 hours and from april, but

some takers say they don't have resources. and last year was the provisionally the second warmest yearin provisionally the second warmest year in the uk since records began in 1884, that's according to the met office. the national weather service said the provisional mean temperature of 9.97 celsius was just upon behind the figure recorded in 2022, that was the warmest year on record, scientists say climate change is to blame. those suffering from the storm will perhaps disagree with those findings. you're live with bbc news. here in the uk, high winds and heavy rain are battering parts every single one of the backlog have not been processed though there are 4.5 thousand complex cases being considered. here's our home editor

mark it's just over a year that rishi sunak said he would abolish that backlog. did he really manage it? the government says the vm's pledge only applies to the legacy backlog, before june only applies to the legacy backlog, beforejune 28, 2022, and that bit of backlog here in the blue has fallen significantly from around 100,000 down to not quite zero actually, four and a half thousand. while the focus has been on this legacy but, and another backlog has been growing. new cases in the system now number more than 94,000, a higher number, actually, than the one the pm promised to reduce to zero. with thousands of the legacy group still in the system as well as all those new cases, can the

government really claim to have abolished the backlog? this is how the home secretary george cubberley explained explains it.— explained explains it. they've all been through — explained explains it. they've all been through that _ explained explains it. they've all been through that processing, i been through that processing, they've all been dealt with in terms of getting through that, as you adjudicating, initialadjudicating process. that's what we meant by addressing the backlog, that's how we've... addressing the backlog, that's how we've. .. . , addressing the backlog, that's how we've... . ,, addressing the backlog, that's how we've... . , ,, ., addressing the backlog, that's how we've... . , we've. .. claims process and claims result, we've. .. claims process and claims result. we — we've. .. claims process and claims result. we also _ we've. .. claims process and claims result, we also know _ we've. .. claims process and claims result, we also know that - we've. .. claims process and claims result, we also know that a - we've. .. claims process and claims result, we also know that a third i we've. .. claims process and claimsj result, we also know that a third of that legacy backlog, those asylum applications being processed were neither accepted nor rejected. no, 35,000 were withdrawn or voided, often because the home office had lost contact with the claimant. the labour party said the government is massaging the numbers. his labour party said the government is massaging the numbers.— labour party said the government is massaging the numbers. his claim to have cleared — massaging the numbers. his claim to have cleared the _ massaging the numbers. his claim to have cleared the asylum _ massaging the numbers. his claim to have cleared the asylum backlog - massaging the numbers. his claim to have cleared the asylum backlog is i have cleared the asylum backlog is totally _ have cleared the asylum backlog is totally false. the figures are nearly— totally false. the figures are

nearly 100,000 cases and they nearly100,000 cases and they haven't— nearly 100,000 cases and they haven't even fully cleared the bit of the _ haven't even fully cleared the bit of the backlog they were targeting. the government has significantly improved the efficiency of the asylum system, more additions made each month, and it claims its policies have helped to reduce the small boat arrivals by a third year on year. with an election likely later this year, the verdict on rishi sunak�*s immigration record will be delivered at the ballot box. this is an artistic recreation what it may have looked like, display or sewer may have lived 30 million years ago. it's one of the fearsome predators this planet has ever seen, rebecca morel has the story. face to face with a drastic sea monster, a

colossal fossil is unveiled to the public for the very first time. this is the skull of a place, one of the most fearsome predators planet has ever seen. i most fearsome predators planet has ever seen. ~' most fearsome predators planet has ever seen. ~ ., �* , ever seen. i think it would've been very terrifying- _ ever seen. i think it would've been very terrifying- it _ ever seen. i think it would've been very terrifying. it has _ ever seen. i think it would've been very terrifying. it has big - ever seen. i think it would've been very terrifying. it has big teeth. i very terrifying. it has big teeth. it's remarkably _ very terrifying. it has big teeth. it's remarkably well _ very terrifying. it has big teeth. it's remarkably well preserved, | very terrifying. it has big teeth. - it's remarkably well preserved, and this specimen is almost complete. this is exemplary, this is the best vow“— this is exemplary, this is the best vow“ ever— this is exemplary, this is the best you'll ever see, i think. this is exemplary, this is the best you'll ever see, ithink. i can categorically say that. there is nothing — categorically say that. there is nothing bigger than this. categorically say that. there is nothing biggerthan this. it categorically say that. there is nothing bigger than this. it fed on everything, if it on its own kind, anything — everything, if it on its own kind, anything it— everything, if it on its own kind, anything it gets its teeth into it fed on — anything it gets its teeth into it fed on. , ., . , fed on. this gigantic reptile lived 150 million _ fed on. this gigantic reptile lived 150 million years _ fed on. this gigantic reptile lived 150 million years ago. _ fed on. this gigantic reptile lived 150 million years ago. it - fed on. this gigantic reptile lived 150 million years ago. it would i 150 million years ago. it would devour pressing pray with a single bite. the fossil was found halfway down a cliff face and dorset�*s cambridge bay. it took the team with

ropes to extract it from the crumbling clay. 0ver ropes to extract it from the crumbling clay. over the next ten months, layer upon layer of rock was painstakingly removed until the player's pliosaur emerged. i painstakingly removed until the player's pliosaur emerged. i think this was in — player's pliosaur emerged. i think this was in fact _ player's pliosaur emerged. i think this was in fact a _ player's pliosaur emerged. i think this was in fact a young _ player's pliosaur emerged. i think this was in fact a young adult, - player's pliosaur emerged. i think this was in fact a young adult, or| this was in fact a young adult, or not fully grown pliosaur, there are certain features on the skull that suggest that. for example, some of the bone fusions are not quite complete, which is a feature of young specimens. i mean, this is a hugely important specimen because of its beautiful preservation and the fact that it's been prepared in such a way so we can see all the important features.- a way so we can see all the important features. there is no doubt this _ important features. there is no doubt this huge _ important features. there is no doubt this huge skull— important features. there is no doubt this huge skull is - important features. there is no - doubt this huge skull is impressive. but where's the rest of it? come and have a look in here. inside this drawer is a tantalising glimpse of what's left to find of the pliosaur�*s body. we have neck

vertebra, a shoulder bone, and the team is certain that the rest of the pliosaur is still in the cliffs and they want to get it out. now, the skull is two metres long, so there is another eight metres left to extract. there may be more of this piece to come, but if it is recovered, the museum may need to build a new extension to fit it all in. rebecca morel, bbc news. it's called the ultimate killing machine for a reason. we'll be back with the headline shortly, stay with us on bbc news. hello. storm henk certainly made its presence felt today with numerous flood warnings issued, particularly across england and wales. we also had this amber warning from the met office, this warning expiring through the early parts of the evening. some very strong winds, though, easing eastwards as the area of low pressure responsible storm henk

continues to slide away. pressure responsible — storm henk continues to slide away. some outbreaks of rain pushing eastwards as well. most of the rain clearing out into the north sea, but some will remain across eastern parts of scotland, bending into the far north east where we'll see some snow into the far north—east where we'll see some snow falling across shetland. it does stay very windy across the north east of scotland, still quite windy through the night across english channel coasts as well. temperatures generally holding up between 3—10 degrees so the vast majority will avoid a frost. so as we head into tomorrow, low pressure still with us. although the main body of storm henk will be moving towards southern scandinavia by this stage, where it will be bringing some quite significant snowfall. for us, many places seeing a day of sunny spells and heavy showers, still blustery down towards the south coast. those winds only slowly easing. also staying windy in the north east of scotland. still a bit of rain, sleet and snow across 0rkney and shetland and some showery rain more generally across the northern half of scotland. temperature wise, 8—11 degrees in many places. and then as we head into thursday, here comes another weather system. this one set to bring some heavy rain, particularly

across the channel islands and into southern coastal counties of england. some of this rain could be on the heavy side. it mayjust be that this pulse of wet weather shifts a little bit further northwards as we go through the day. elsewhere, sunny spells and showers, some more persistent rain continuing to affect the north east of scotland, still cold in shetland. and elsewhere, those temperatures just starting to come down a little bit. that's a sign of things to come. as we move into the weekend, low pressure will loosen its grip and high pressure will start to build, both from the west and from the east. so that is going to settle things down. as that happens, we'll see some colder air developing. nothing exceptional for this time of year, it is early january, after all, but those temperatures certainly lower than they have been by day and by night. any showers that do crop up could be wintry in nature. there'll be some frost and fog at night, but a lot of dry weather.

this is bbc news, the headlines. hamas says it's deputy political leader salah al—arouri has been killed in an explosion in beirut. japan's prime minister confirms a five coastguard crew were killed in a collision between two planes at tokyo's airport.