in the north of the territory after they forcibly evacuated the patients. thick fog is causing travel disruption around the uk, with flights cancelled and drivers warned to be careful on roads. and india pays respects to former prime minister manmohan singh — his last rites were held with full state honours. hello, i'm lucy hockings. president putin has apologised to azerbaijan's president for what he called a "tragic incident" in russian airspace involving the azerbaijan airlines plane that crashed in kazakhstan on christmas day, killing 38 people. there's no direct admission the plane was struck by a russian missile. a statement on the kremlin website says russian air defence was repelling a drone attack while the plane was attempting to land. our russia editor,

steve rosenberg, joined me earlierfrom moscow, to unpack the kremlin�*s statement. the wording is very important here in these situations. you have to look at the wording in the kremlin website in the readout of the conversation. yes, vladimir putin did apologise, but not for downing the plane, he apologised for what he called a tragic incident which took place in russian airspace. he expressed condolences to the families of the dead. so, according to the kremlin readout, this plane, the azerbaijan airlines flight, had been trying to land in grozny several times on christmas day. at that time, according to the kremlin, russian air

defences were repelling a ukrainian drone attack, so you could put two and two together, but that is not clear from the kremlin readout. so, basically, the kremlin is blaming ukraine for attacking grozny airport with drones. that is the way i read it from what the kremlin has put out in that statement, that description of the conversation between the two presidents. steve, president putin never apologises for anything, though, and a lot of people will look at this statement and think is it as close that we will get to an admission that russia was responsible, given they said air defences were operational at the time? but what about the timing? there was a lot of pressure coming out of azerbaijan with people pointing the finger of blame very much at moscow. you are absolutely right, lucy. ever since this disaster, there has been growing evidence that the plane may well have been hit by a russian air defensive missiles.

that the plane was subjected to external physical, and technical interference as well. you had america also yesterday saying they were early indications that the plane may have been shot, hit by a russian air defence system. so the evidence has been growing by the day and that leads us to the kremlin�*s decision to have this telephone conversation between the two presidents and put out this statement. we don't know the full details of what was said in that conversation between the presidents. we can see what the kremlin readout said. and this is the closest russia has come so far to accepting responsibility for the disaster. russia and azerbaijan are allies, how important is that relationship to russia?

russia wants to retain influence in the former soviet space. azerbaijan has been a key partner, even though azerbaijan is also now a key partner of turkey. but clearly i think the issuing of this statement, the telephone conversation between the two presidents is a sign that the kremlin does believe it is an important relationship to maintain. clearly there has been a lot of anger in baku after this disaster, and so that leads us to what the kremlin has said today and this apology, as i say, not for shooting down the plane, but for this incident taking place in russian airspace. but as we have been saying, this is the closest we have come to hearing an apology from russia for what happened on christmas day. the world health organization and palestinian health officials say the last major functioning hospital in northern gaza has been put out of service after it was evacuated by the israeli military. the kamal adwan hospital

has been under siege by the idf for weeks. the world health organization said it was deeply concerned for the safety of patients who were forced to leave. the head of the hospital's nursing department told the bbc the army gave them only a fifteen—minute warning to evacuate patients and staff before the israeli army entered the hospital and removed anyone that remained. palestinian health officials say around 100 medical staff were ta ken into an interrogating site and questioned last night and the director of the hospital was detained. some of the medical staff who have been released have now reached the indonesian hospital. israel says the kamal adwan hospital was being used by hamas as a command centre, but has not provided any evidence to support this. patients and medical staff have described what they witnessed during the evacuation. translation: at around 4am, the army came to the hospital. and asked all the medical staff and patients and people accompanying them to go into the court. then, they grouped everyone. the medical teams alone,

the patients alone, then they got ambulances to get us and sent us to the main gate. translation: the patients that were evacuated now have been i held for interrogation for 24 hours, despite their injuries. the army didn't care that they were injured, and left them out in the cold that 24 hours, and they were left on the roundabout and we, as paramedics, got to the closest point, despite the dangers, and evacuated a large number of patients. the kamal adwan hospital was the last hospital with paediatric care facility in northern gaza. let's speak to kazem abu khalaf who is a spokesperson for the children's aid organisation unicef injerusalem. good to see you. do you know, does anyone know what has happened to the babies and children that were in the hospital that has been evacuated?— hospital that has been evacuated? ., ~ ., ., evacuated? thank you for having me. we evacuated? thank you for having

me- we are _ evacuated? thank you for having me. we are trying _ evacuated? thank you for having me. we are trying to _ evacuated? thank you for having me. we are trying to get - evacuated? thank you for having me. we are trying to get some l me. we are trying to get some details about what happened to the babies. exactly as you said, kamaladwan the babies. exactly as you said, kamal adwan hospital is the only hospital that had a paediatric unit. the information is coming in slower manner and in information is coming in slower mannerand in parts, i information is coming in slower manner and in parts, i cannot confirm exactly what took place with the babies in kamal adwan hospital. all we know it is according to the who that it is empty now, probably 50 health givers and staff were moved to an indonesian hospital which is nearby which is already a lack of medical supplies and staff so it is really challenging in that area and in kamal adwan right now. that area and in kamal adwan right nova— right now. are there any hospitals _ right now. are there any hospitals in _ right now. are there any hospitals in operation i right now. are there any - hospitals in operation anywhere in gaza at the moment that can cope with some of the paediatric needs on the ground? according to the who, there is not even one single hospital thatis not even one single hospital that is fully functional in the gaza strip, out of 36

hospitals. we are talking a less than probably 16 of them that are partially functional, not even one single that is fully functional.— not even one single that is fully functional. what does that mean _ fully functional. what does that mean for— fully functional. what does that mean for babies - fully functional. what does that mean for babies and l that mean for babies and children that need care? it means that they will continue, sadly, to pay the highest price of the conflict, just like any other children in the world. we are coming to the end of the year and it doesn't seem that this will come to an end. the health system in the gaza strip is on its knees, really, it is on its knees, and the highest price will continue to be paid by civilians and by children. what of the big concerns at the moment is just how cold it is, and we have heard reports of babies dying of hypothermia in gaza. are any supplies getting into a dress just that one need, in terms of better shelter or clothing or blankets?— shelter or clothing or blankets? ~ . , ., ., ~ blankets? we are trying to make this particular — blankets? we are trying to make this particular challenge. - blankets? we are trying to make this particular challenge. not -

this particular challenge. not only to diseases and the barn bird and lack of adequate shelter, now the cold is also taking the lives of the nobles. we are trying to get blankets to gather with our partners but the overall size of aid getting into the gaza strip is very far away from being enough, in terms of everything that is needed. ~ ., terms of everything that is needed. ., , . ., terms of everything that is needed. . , . ., ., ., needed. what percentage of aid is actually managing _ needed. what percentage of aid is actually managing to - needed. what percentage of aid is actually managing to get - needed. what percentage of aid is actually managing to get in i is actually managing to get in at the moment?— is actually managing to get in at the moment? well, let me cive ou at the moment? well, let me give you the _ at the moment? well, let me give you the following - at the moment? well, let me. give you the following number. the gaza strip used to have 500 trucks full of different kind of aid every single day, prior to the wall. now, we are talking about 50, 60, 70 per day. so 500 prior to the war and prior to the increased damage and now there are tens of trucks getting in, if they ever make it to their final destination in the gaza strip. thank you forjoining us from

jerusalem. the state funeral of the former indian prime minister, manmohan singh has taken place in delhi. india's first sikh premier died on thursday at the age of 92. mourners turned out across the capital to pay their respects as mamohan singh's coffin was placed on a flower—decked carriage pulled by a ceremonial army truck. gun salute. the ceremony included a 21—gun salute and was attended by india prime minister narendra modi, members of mr singh's congress party as well as other politicians and foreign dignitaries. our correspondent, arunoday mukharji, was at the funeral and says people of all political affiliations attended. behind me is the cremation ground where the former prime minister manmohan singh was cremated with full state honours a short while back. people are starting to disperse. it was a massive affair as you can see just by the crowd and also the heavy police presence here

because there were leaders from various political parties to several politicians of opposition parties as well. that is testament to who the former prime minister was, serving as the leader of the country from 2004 to 2014. prior to that, he was known primarily for being the finance minister and crafting india's economic policy which liberalised the indian economy, opening it up and many say that was the time that india's economic growth story really began. that's what he is known for. an academician, a scholar first and then a politician. that's why you see the kind of condolence messages that have been pouring in right from various political parties, including the prime minister who said that india today is mourning one of the country's most distinguished leaders. condolence messages continue to pour in. we seem politicians and dignitaries and citizens and various supporters who have

come in to pay their respects. the head of the world health organization has told the bbc that it was public knowledge he was in yemen on thursday when israel launched air strikes at houthi targets. this footage reportedly captured the incident from inside the airport. dr tedros adhanom ghebreyesus, who's now injordan, said the main target, the international airport in sanaa, was a civilian facility and should not have been hit. at least six people were killed. israel says it was targeting military infrastructure. it was very chaotic, you know, people were in disarray and running everywhere. no shelter. we were completely exposed. it is matter of luck. otherwise, if the missile deviated just slightly, it could have been on our head. and so my colleague actually said after all that,

we escaped narrowly. and it is a civilian airport. i think there are rules to engagement, as you know, and that has to be respected. and that is why we have international law. so what we are saying is international law should be respected. now it's time for a look at today's sport. australia remain in charge of the fourth test in melbourne, but india have hope, thanks to a superb first test century from nitish kumar reddy. playing only his fourth test match, the 21—year—old hit an unbeaten 105 to drag his side from 191—6 to 358—9 at the close of play. you can see what it meant to his dad here. a special moment. bad light and rain arrived soon after to end play, with india 116 runs behind going into day four — but they have hope of at least a draw thanks

to reddy�*s hundred. the series is currently tied at 1—1. meanwhile at centurion, south africa need 145 runs to win the first test against pakistan. marco jensen took six for 52 as the tourists were all out for 237 in their second innings — south africa havejust begun their sccond innings and are seven without loss. there are no premier league fixtures this saturday but manchester city are first up on sunday, away at leicester. pep guardiola's side are on their worst run of away games for 13 years — they've lost seven of their last eight on the road in all competitions. but the manchester city boss is confident he can turn things around. it will be earlier or easy to fix it. i will not give up. i

try to be as much calm as possible, to try to read what is the situation, and what we can do the next game to make it better. now we go to leicester who it has been difficult. the players will be ready, we will do it. nick kyrgios says the high—profile doping cases involving grand slam winners jannik sinner and iga swiatek are "disgusting" for tennis. the australian is preparing to make his return to competitive action at the brisbane international and says "i just think that it's been handled horrifically in our sport," adding "it's a horrible look." italian men's world number one sinner still faces the threat of a possible suspension after he twice tested positive for an anabolic steroid in march. swiatek served a one—month suspension after testing positive for a banned heart medication in august. in the nba, the eastern conference leaders the cleveland cavaliers have improved their league—best record to 27 wins in 31 with a 149—135 victory over

the denver nuggets. elsewhere, jaylen brown scored a season—high 44 points, including six 3—pointers, as the boston celtics ended a run of two defeats with a 142—105 win over the indiana pacers. jayson tatum adding 22 points and 13 rebounds for boston. world number one scottie scheffler suffered a freak accident while cooking dinner on christmas day and has undergone surgery to his hand. the two—time major winner will now miss the first two weeks of the new pga tour season, with his manager saying he will return to action at the american express championship onjanuary 16th in california. scheffler sustained a puncture wound to the palm of his right hand from a broken glass and needed surgery for small fragments that remained. and, finally, world chess number one magnus carlsen has quit

a major tournament in new york after a row over his jeans. the grandmaster was defending his titles at the fide world rapid and blitz chess championships when officials objected to his choice of trousers. despite offering to change them for the next day, carlsen was fined and told he needed to change immediately. instead he decided to pull out of the tournaments altogether. the norwegian also hit the headlines last year after he settled a long—running legal dispute after accusing a rival of cheating in a tournament. and that's all the sport for now. here in the uk, airline passengers are facing delays of up to several hours as thick fog which led to dozens of cancellations and delays across uk airports on friday continues. our news correspondent barry caffrey has the latest from gatwick airport. there is significant disruption here at gatwick airport.

it all started yesterday when 48 flights were grounded and there has been a knock—on effect since. this morning, a number of cancellations took place but the main problem here at gatwick airport other delays, the vast majority of short—haul and flights going to european destinations as well as domestic flights have been delayed, some of them by more than three hours. and the travel expert simon calder says the disruption is expected to continue for the rest of the day. the airlines, despite all their best efforts last night, will be faced with a big problem this morning that their planes and their pilots aren't necessarily the right place to start getting people they need to be. so i'm afraid disruption could continue all day and if fog remains then that is going to be very disruptive for tens of thousands of passengers. well, it is notjust gatwick airport having problems. heathrow airport cancelled 20

flights before eight o'clock this morning and a significant number of more flights have been cancelled there, and there are delays at birmingham airport, london city airport and manchester as well. the uk air traffic controller says temporary air traffic restrictions remain in place because of the low viz ability and it said the restrictions of that kind up only ever applied to maintain safety. it said it is in contact with all the airports and airlines to try and win disruption. ——and airlines to try and minimise disruption. the advice for travellers today, though, is to check with their airline before travelling to the airport and leave plenty of extra time for yourjourney and expect delays. sir keir starmer has written to the uk's major regulators asking them to submit proposals for reforms that could boost economic growth. the prime minister wants each watchdog to come up with ideas by mid—january. these could include removing

regulations and other potential barriers to growth. labour is under pressure after downgraded figures revealed the uk economy flatlined between july and september. the actress olivia hussey, who shot to international prominence as a teenager for her role in the 1968 film version of romeo and juliet, has died aged 73. the argentinian—born actress, who grew up in london, died on friday surrounded by her loved ones. hussey won the best new actress golden globe for her part asjuliet, but decades later she sued paramount pictures for sexual abuse as she was aged just 15 when she filmed the movie's nude scene. her other most notable screen role was as mary, mother ofjesus, in 1977 tv miniseriesjesus of nazareth. demonstrators have taken to the streets of seoul, a day after mps ousted south korea's acting president, han duck—soo less than two weeks after he was appointed. the vote to impeach mr han was boycotted by the governing party and there were unruly scenes in the chamber as mps

surrounded the speaker's chair, shouting and raising their fists. and it's being reported that south korea's suspended president yoon suk yeol authorised the military to fire their weapons if needed to enter parliament during his failed bid to impose martial law. she leads the international institute of korean studies at the university of central lancashire. i asked her what is next for south korea. so, as you said, there is very much on saturday at the moment and it is not only about the politics but also that the economy as well. because of that reason, many people have come to the streets. today it was quite surprising that the supporters of president yoon were in the streets as well. so it looks like people still have some support for the leading

party, not only about the president unit but more about their party's conservative supporters because the leader of the opposition party and because of the internal domestic political rivalry, we now have essentially in the economy as well and also right at the corner next month president trump will be in their in the states and that will be another factor that the korean economy will see in the future as dangerous moment to see the trade and also other tax issues. so it is not only that the politics but also about most of the issues around korea at the moment. 50. about most of the issues around korea at the moment.— korea at the moment. so, more generally. — korea at the moment. so, more generally. what _ korea at the moment. so, more generally, what is _ korea at the moment. so, more generally, what is the _ korea at the moment. so, more generally, what is the state - korea at the moment. so, more generally, what is the state of. generally, what is the state of the korean economy at the moment? fist the korean economy at the moment?— the korean economy at the moment? �* ., ., , ., , moment? at the moment, as many of us know. — moment? at the moment, as many of us know. the — moment? at the moment, as many of us know, the exchange _ moment? at the moment, as many of us know, the exchange rate - of us know, the exchange rate is quite unstable, and that affects a lot of the traders in korea, especially for those who

are dependent on trade with other countries, that is pretty much under threat. and also, the credit ratings we expect could increase soon and in new year, there aren't many of the small and medium enterprises as well. ~ ., , , small and medium enterprises as well. . . , , ., ., well. what is being made of the prosecutor's _ well. what is being made of the prosecutor's report _ well. what is being made of the prosecutor's report in _ well. what is being made of the prosecutor's report in which - well. what is being made of the prosecutor's report in which it i prosecutor's report in which it is alleged mr unit said the military could open fire in order to enter parliament? == order to enter parliament? -- mr yoon- _ order to enter parliament? -- mr yoon. that _ order to enter parliament? » mr yoon. that was quite surprising because many of his so—called allies, members, now turned out to show that what actually happened, even the recordings of conversations between them has been released. so that tells us that president yoon was in a desperate situation because of the opposition party leader and because before the martial law, already people were on the

streets to demand his resignation because many people were not happy. so he was under threat with his wife's scandal and at the same time he did not want the opposition party leader becoming the president. so there was quite significant evidence coming more more, showing that he was quite unhappy with lots of actual threats to the parliamentary members and other members who were opposed to him. in the georgian capital tbilisi, thousands of people have formed a human chain in support of the country s bid for eu membership, marking the second month of their daily pro—europe rallies. since november 28th, protesters across georgia have been holding mass rallies after the ruling georgian dream party announced it would delay seeking eu accession talks. the demonstration took place just one day before the inauguration of mikheil

kavelashvili, a loyalist of the ruling, pro—russian, georgian dream party as the country's new president. mr kavelashvili has been labeled illegitimate by current leader salome zurabishvili and the pro—western opposition. we didn't get a white christmas in the uk but if you're looking for some winter wonderland scenes, then take a look at the taihang mountains of china. people have been flocking there to see the huge icicles which form at this time of year. the area has a lot of water and is prone to sudden drops in temperature — creating these spectacular displays. hello there, some higher parts of england and wales have again been sticking out above this misty low cloud today. it's quite gloomy and murky and a little damp in other parts of england and wales. the fog, though, probably not quite as extensive as it has been. and through the rest

of the weekend, the breeze picks up a little, that mist and patchy fog will be lifting, promising some brighter skies more widely tomorrow, although there will be some rain still in scotland. the mist and fog is closer to this area of low pressure which is affecting other parts of europe as well, that weather front weakening as it moves south, and another band of rain heading into northern scotland by the end of the day. but temperatures in scotland and northern ireland in double figures. where it's grey and gloomy through the midlands, south—east england, it's going to be a chilly 5 or 6 degrees here, again. and still some extensive low cloud, some patches of mist and fog into the night, tending to lift from the north, as the breeze picks up, and we see some rain arriving across more of northern scotland, particularly towards the highlands. where we do see a few breaks in the cloud further south, temperatures could get close to freezing once again. we may still have some mist and patchy fog to start with in southern parts of england and wales on sunday. that should tend to lift, skies brightening, there may even be a bit of sunshine across more areas. further north, though,

with those stronger winds in scotland we are going to find some further rain across the northern half of the country. but temperatures should be higher in england and wales with the promise of a little sunshine, temperatures reaching 9 or 10 degrees. we are going to find that rain, though, continuing in scotland and every now and again an area of low pressure develops on that, intensifying the rain. and it's bumping into colder air in the far north of the country, so we could well find some snow in parts of scotland. it's rain for the most part, but some of that rain will be affecting northern england and northern ireland on monday. further south, the breeze continues to pick up a little, and bring in a few holes in the cloud but lifting temperatures into 10 or 11 degrees. but it is colder in scotland, and this is where we could have some disruptive weather at the end of the year. monday into tuesday, from the central belt northwards, mainly some heavy rain, but there could be some snow for a while. as that melts it brings the risk of flooding and some travel disruption as well. but things could get even worse for new year's day because the next area of low pressure is going to be deeper,

it'll be stronger winds, more widely, some heavy rain and some heavier snow in scotland.

this is bbc news, the headlines: russia's president vladimir putin has apologised to the president of azerbaijan for the downing of a passenger plane in kazakhstan. he called it a tragic incident in russian airspace but did not admit that russian air defences

shot it down. the health ministry in gaza says israeli forces detained and interrogated around 100 medical staff from a hospital in the north of the territory after they forcibly evacuated the patients. the world health organisation says it's the last major hospital in northern gaza now out of service. indians gather to pay their respects to former prime minister, manmohan singh. india's first sikh prime minister died on thursday at the age of 92. his last rites were held with full state honours. and thick fog is causing travel disruption around the uk, with flights cancelled and drivers warned to be careful on the roads. now on bbc news — time to look back at the year in sport.