a leading brexit—supporting mp says he's unhappy about the idea of britain staying in the single market and customs union during any transition period. police in canada say they're treating the deaths of the billionaire businessman barry sherman and his wife honey, as "suspicious". the renowned scientist and television presenter heinz wolff has died at the age of 89. his son says describes him as having a natural sense of fun. the person people saw when they met him or the person we knew at home. his sense of humour, his curiosity, his enthusiasm. that was our father. the ashes are slipping away from england. australia captain steve smith hits a double century, as his side takes complete control of the third test in perth. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news.

good evening. south africa's president, jacob zuma, says the future of the governing anc party is under threat. at a conference to choose a new leader, he said voters believed it was arrogant and soft on corruption. mr zuma himself has faced allegations of fraud and racketeering. his successor is widely expected to become the next president in 2019. our africa editor, fergal keane is in johannesburg. police investigating the deaths of a 75—year—old canadian not since the anc came to power 23 years ago has so much depended on the votes of its party members. an organisation that held together through more than eight decades of white rule is now bitterly divided. they sing the same song, but support very different visions. this conference is not just about the future of a liberation movement, a political party. it is about the future of this country. will the anc elect a new leader who has promised to sweep away corruption?

the anc has always been good at shows of unity, like the clasped hands of the two contenders. they are both vying for delegates‘ votes. who would you like to see? zuma. she will become the president. you will see, you will see. who do you think will be the next leader? cyril ramaphosa, no doubt. cyril ramaphosa to be the next president of the anc and the republic of south africa. dr diamini—zuma is a politician in her own right but also the ex—wife of jacob zuma. cyril ramaphosa could do well if he makes good on his anti—corruption rhetoric. cyril ramaphosa has been portrayed as the puppet

of greedy white business. hence this swipe in his speech. we need to find ways of protecting the anc from corporate greed and ensure that the decisions we take are informed by the policies of the anc are not dictated... not dictated to by business interests. africa's oldest liberation movement is fraying. even in the face of poignant pleas for unity. whoever is elected leader tomorrow will inherit a party in crisis. fergal keane, bbc news, johannesburg. a leading supporter of brexit has warned the uk cannot become a "colony" of the eu during the expected two year ‘transition period' after britain's withdrawal in march 2019.

jacob rees—mogg made the comments after eu leaders yesterday agreed to move to the next phase of brexit discussions in the new year. they suggested the uk would need to shadow single market regulations and remain under the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice during any transition phase. a short time ago i spoke with our political correspondent tom barton who explained mr rees—mogg's objections. you will remember that back in september, in her florence speech, theresa may talked about britain negotiating a transition period of two years. in this document is the european union's view of what that transition period looks like and in essence what it is is that britain remains subject to eu law even if that

changes to what are known as the four pillars of the eu, which includes free movement. the prime minister has consistently said that she is in favour of an implementation, which means that we are leaving march 2019 and the consequences of leaving are implemented. but we cannot be a colony of the eu for two years from 2019—21, accepting new laws that are made without any say—so of the british people, parliament or government. that is not leaving the european union, that is being a vassal state of the european union and i would be very surprised if that

were government policy. it seems that across—the—board that you has been taking that some sort of transition period, which gives continuity to business, while those details trade negotiations are taking place, is broadly a good thing. there are questions around the detail of that. in particular whether or not we should be forced to a cce pt whether or not we should be forced to accept changes to the rules after we have left. 0n to accept changes to the rules after we have left. on that broad issue,

philip hammond, the chancellor, on her visit to china has asked whether britain was committed to essentially maintaining the status quo. in his answer, in a word, yes. we will no longer be members of the european union. we will not technically or legally be in the customs union or in the single market. but we are committed, as a result of the agreement that we made this week, to creating an environment which will effectively replicate the current status quo so that businesses can carry on trading with their commercial partners across the european union, as they do now. borders will operate as they do now, and financial services, businesses, will be able to carry on conducting their business across borders as they do now. it seems for the transition period at least, things are going to stay

the same. the odd that it is all down to that trade deal which is going to be negotiated. and for all brexit devotees, news of a special programme on monday. we arejust packing up in brussels where the prime minister finally got the green light to move onto the next phase. what happens next? 0ur podcast, brexitcast. on monday at ten past 11 on the bbc news channel. police investigating the deaths of a 75—year—old canadian billionaire and his wife say the circumstances appear suspicious. barry sherman — who founded a major pharmaceutical company — was found dead with his wife honey at their mansion in toronto. reports say there was no sign of forced entry. angus crawford reports. one of toronto's richest suburbs, a house for sale. in the basement, a discovery, two bodies, a man and a woman. barry sherman and his wife, honey, one of the richest couples in

the country. police cannot yet say what happened. the circumstances of their death lead us to believe that there may be suspicious circumstances. it is an investigative tool. until we know exactly how they died, we treat it as suspicious. and once a determination has been made by the pathologist and barry sherman, who was 75, is thought to be worth more than £2 billion. he made his money in pharmaceuticals, setting up apotex in the 19705, and building it into one of the biggest drugs companies in the world. stepping down as chief executive in 2012, he dedicated himself to charity work. today, canadian premier justin trudeau said that he and his wife sent their condolences to the sherman's family and friends and everyone touched by their vision and spirit. local people came to the couple's

home to lay flowers and pay their respects. this woman still could not believe the news. at work, extremely respected. people looked up to him. people are in shock, crying. they are genuinely heartbroken. flag for now, the investigation continues into two deaths which leave the community in shock and a family in mourning. this is the area where a treat the

diameter water main has ruptured. a flooded field close to the river severn in tewkesbury. it is last much of the town without water for a second day. meanwhile the supplier has organised three collection points in the town. they have been here since 7am this morning and will be here until ten tonight. yesterday 260,000 metres were handed out. they are expecting similar amounts today. i'm surprised severn trent haven't got it back together again in 2a hours. i-pad to drive nearly ten miles here. we have had water supply discontinued twice in the past eight weeks. i'm beginning to think there is something wrong with the infrastructure. david runs an emergency committee for such situations in the village. it was set up during the floods of 20 —— 2007. it is proving near impossible to get water directly to the village. i feel the villagers have

been left almost to the room devices toa been left almost to the room devices to a certain extent. we've had no formal delivery of any surprise. no tackling or browsers or direct deliveries of bottled water. i had to go and negotiate yesterday to get what we did get. how long will the water be off? i can say at the moment how long it will take, that i can assure all of our customers we are working as hard as we can to get the network back to normal. businesses have been affected to, many having to close. severn trent is asking people to check on vulnerable neighbours in case they are unable to collect water themselves. austria is poised to become the only western european country with a far—right party in government. the conservative people's party — which won the parliamentary election two months ago but failed to secure a majority — has struck a coalition deal with the anti—immigration freedom party. the leaders of the two parties have met with the austrian president, who has given his approval for the deal.

the head of the people's party, sebastian kurz — who's 31 — will be the youngest national leader in the world. officials in california says one of the wildfires — which have driven tens of thousands of people from their homes — now covers nearly 400 square miles. a firefighter has died tackling the flames, north of los angeles. 0ur correspondent, james cook, sent this report from the town of fillmore. 12 days on and still it burns. more than 8,000 men and women are now battling this blaze, saving homes one by one. not far from here, the fire claimed the life of 32—year—old cory iverson, a firefighter, a father and a husband. he is survived by his wife, ashley, his two— year—old daughter, evie. cory and ashley are expecting a second daughter this spring. the fire has destroyed homes, too.

more than 700 of them and another 18,000 buildings remain at risk. this is one of five homes in this tiny neighbourhood which was destroyed when the flames swept through here so fast that firefighters had to abandon the area. which ones survived and which were destroyed was a matter of pure luck. aaron lawson and his family were among the lucky ones. their home was scorched, but it survived, thanks in part to neighbours who lost everything but stayed to fight the fire. the most rewarding thing is seeing them, some of the guys who lost their houses, working with us, side by her side, to keep our houses safe those first few days. all week, they have been racing to contain the fire, and with fierce winds forecast again tonight, that battle is about to intensify. the headlines on bbc news:

the south african president, jacob zuma, has spoken of the enormous challenges facing the country and the governing anc as it chooses his successor. police in canada say they're treating the deaths of the billionaire businessman barry sherman and his wifea ' and a leading brexit supporting mp says he's unhappy about the idea of britain staying in the single market and customs union during any transition period. the former prime minister, david cameron, is to lead a uk government investment initiative with china. the announcement follows a two—day visit to the country by the chancellor phillip hammond. mr cameron will be involved in a new $1 billion fund which will invest in the uk, china and other countries. earlier, the bbc‘s china correspondent, robin brant, was asked to explain why

phillip hammond was bringing david cameron back into the political fold. i think maybe the answer to that is more about uk institutional investors, their desire to have such a prominent figure on board and mr cameron's desire to continue the work he did in government where he championed even closer ties, expanded ties, between the uk and china. philip hammond told me a few hours ago here in beijing that he supports this investment fund, he endorses it but it is not public money, not taxpayer's money, not a government fund. nonetheless, david cameron, very well known, has taken a pretty low profile since he left downing street a year ago. he has campaigned on some health causes, he's been involved in the national citizen service for 16—17—year—olds in the uk. but he is now turning his aim to institutional investing and continuing that focus on, as i said, trying to improve

and expand economic ties between china and the uk. so i think philip hammond thinks that david cameron will lead this fund, is going to invest in a swathe of projects, possibly, pipelines, railways, infrastructure projects, closely linked with the rather awkwardly named belton road initiative which is china's number one public policy priority and is aimed at helping economies to the west of china and beyond in europe to develop, because that helps china gain access there and then helps those countries improve their economic ties with china. but i think what it shows more than anything, when you add it to comments from philip hammond, is how much the uk continues to believe in better relations with china, better economic ties, because it believes, especially as brexit approaches and then passes, that china, the world's number two

economy, is key to helping the uk economy grew. detectives investigating the death of a man who caught fire while walking down a london street say they haven't found out how the fire started. members of the public found seventy year old john nolan on the street in haringey and tried to save him, but he later died of severe burns following the incident, which happened in september. a spokesman for the metropolitan police said detectives have spoken to several witnesses but they are still treating his death as unexplained. an inquest will open at barnet coroner's court on 13 march. retailers are expected to make big discounts in the final week before christmas, to convince shoppers to keep spending throughout the festive period. there's fear among some on the high street that with rising inflation and stagnant wages, consumers may be more willing to spend big in the period after black friday in late november, rather than in the run up to december 25th. our business correspondent joe lynam reports. what could be more christmassy than the salvation army warming our hearts, and the hustle and bustle of shoppers hunting for bargains?

but with money tight end competition intense, some big retailers are starting to offer big discounts well ahead of the boxing day sales. will it work? i do believe that retailers are trying to get the money in before christmas than after. quite a few shops have got reduced prices, bargains on offer. obviously if you can wait until the sales... but i think a lot of sales, looking around, have started early. i come to leeds every saturday and stuff that i looked at last week is on sale this week. the consultants pwc have found evidence of pre—christmas discounting and expected to intensify next week. promotional levels are ticking up, both online and offline. so if you've not in your shopping yet, we're expecting a lot more promotions, particularly online, in the final week before christmas. but experts feel that they'll be back in numbers. retail spending was surprisingly up by 1.1% last month.

i say surprising because average prices in the shops were rising faster than wages and ordinarily consumers rein in their spending, but they haven't — yet. and retailers want every penny of that spare money. and to do that, they are slashing some prices. but in doing so they're merely bringing forward the discounts that they would have offered in winter sales. it's all part of the annual face—off between retailers and consumers. joe lynam, bbc news. the scientist and broadcaster, professor heinz wolff, perhaps best known for presenting the bbc science programme, the great egg race, has died. he was 89. richard galpin looks back at his life. the programming courage to people

i spoke to his son about his father. he has been described by some of his collea g u es he has been described by some of his colleagues at brunel university as a sparkling scientist. was his background in science? he used to say it was his first experience was doing chemistry with his father in bread and as a four—year—old. holding sugar in a test tube over a bunsen burner. he encouraged us as well. we had workbenches. it will

horrify those concerned with health and safety. we had a bunsen burner at the age of six! he was an extremely bright students when he arrived at oxford. at school, this was. he was already inventing proper medical instruments in his teens. it began there. we talk of tim peake today. but your father was actually, he played a huge role in getting the first briton up in space, doctor helen sharman. how did he come to the world of space? he always thought that science was a cultural thing as well. and that he knew that there needed to be big projects like sending somebody to space to inspire other people, particularly young people. that was one interest, one reason. he knew that there were some

very big challenges for the human physiology when you go up into space, so physiology when you go up into space, so he was the scientific director of that programme. of course it was done through, not through state funding. i think there wasn't as much science in it in the end as he wanted. helen sharman went into space. you were very -- we are very lucky because you have brought some personal photos. look at that, obviously a sense of humour. he has been described as something of a joker. that was just his been described as something of a joker. that wasjust his natural sense of fun. he knew that it was also a way of engaging people. from just looking at some of the comments on social media, he obviously entertained as well as educated. he made no excuses for that, but it was

also something absolutely within his character. to have fun in that way. a lovely picture there with a little girl. that one is a lovely portrait of him showing his kindness. he was enormously valuable in that quality, kindness. there is a picture of my daughter and son with a strange instrument. that was a machine that was designed to perhaps grow food on a mars mission. my children have just come into the laboratory to look at it. he has been described by so look at it. he has been described by so many, including my husband, as inspirational. it encouraged him to go with the sciences. what would he like to be rendered for?|j go with the sciences. what would he like to be rendered for? i think that really was important. it always struck me that he had the most desirable kind of fame, has people

would stop him in the street, just as your husband said, and with say, you got me into science. 0r, as your husband said, and with say, you got me into science. or, to paramedic teams that came to him a few days ago, they said, we used to watch you and you really explain things well. incidentally, he also had a morphine pump on him this morning, or yesterday. had a morphine pump on him this morning, oryesterday. 0f had a morphine pump on him this morning, oryesterday. of which had a morphine pump on him this morning, or yesterday. of which a little pa rt of morning, or yesterday. of which a little part of the mechanism was designed by him. you can see how he touched so many people through his ingenuity, in terms of his inventing, you might say, as his great belief in education about science and technology. in terms of everyday life and the sciences, what sort of inventions do we not realise your dad played a part in?|j sort of inventions do we not realise your dad played a part in? i think it is true to say, you know when you have an ecg and you have those

little sticky things on? back in the 50s, you literally just little sticky things on? back in the 50s, you literallyjust stuck a wire, it was glued onto the skin. i was with him in hospital and one of these more comfortable things with a little bit of gel in them, i believe that he casually says, we invented those. so there are just absolutely basic things that you see in a hospital. when he started, i hospital. when he started, i hospital really, a hospital ward was a room with beds in it and that was all. all the paraphernalia you see around hospital bed in terms of monitoring of patients, he was there at the very beginning. did he like his time on tv? he did. it was a small part of his career, but it's the magic box is what makes people so the magic box is what makes people so well known. they were thought to be lost forever, but now tv shows, starring cilla black and pete postlethwaite, are being

seen for the first time in decades, at an exhibition in london. the event, by the british film institute, celebrates the discovery of programmes which were believed to have disappeared from the archives. 0ur entertainment correspondent, colin paterson, had a preview. # i could learn a lot of things from you. # you shine at every single thing you do...# cilla black and dudley moore together on her bbc one variety show. this episode of cilla has not been seen since it was first transmitted in march, 1968. # you're the one who's really versatile. ..# a copy has turned up in the house of a former fairground worker near blackpool, whose dad was a film collector. today it will be shown in full at the bfi southbank as part of their missing believed wiped series, where rediscovered tv is showcased, including a crackly recording of the first ever tv appearance by pete postlethwaite at the age of 29.

i still like you, sometimes. come on. local loony hears voices from outer space, get on with it. let's get it over with. one was a half—hour bbc play broadcast in 1975, from which he played a journalist investigating a possible arrival of an alien spaceship. the original was wiped, but the director held onto the video of the first edit, which has been restored. 0ther discoveries include the only surviving episode of late night horror from 1968, which was cancelled by the bbc after one six—part series, due to the number of complaints about it being too scary. and an episode of itv police drama no hiding place has

turned up in australia. in the 19605 it had audiences of seven million, but only 20 of the 236 episodes survived. this one is from 1960 and features a guest appearance by patrick troughton as a grumpy prisoner, six years before hejoined dr who. they don't release nutcases you know, not even after seven years good conduct. you will do another seven, in a straitjacket! it's hoped events like this will encourage more people to come forward with their own tv treasures. we have been rooting around in the archives and guess who we've found? hello, phil avery! hello, phil how archives and guess who we've found? hello, phil how rude. i taught all she knows. good evening. a real

mishmash of the day. quite a widespread frost tonight across the eastern side of the british isles. it will be a different story out towards the west, simply because we have quite bit of cloud there today producing is rain and are increasingly across the northwest cloud and rain spilling in from the atlantic. the thing is, out towards the east, you start to lose your temperatures and a bit of frost and mist and fog. towards the west, you