this is bbc news. the headlines at 6. a british woman, rebecca dykes, has been killed in beirut, the foreign office says. she worked for the department for international development. an investigation is under way following a multi—vehicle crash in central birmingham in which six people were killed. police described the scene as "harrowing". plans to automatically enrol hundreds of thousands of young people in workplace pensions for the first time, to help them save for retirement. england's ashes hopes are fading — captainjoe root one of four men out already with still a day to bat to save the series. in half an hour here on bbc news bbc sport will have a round—up of all the day's sports events with sportsday. good evening and welcome to bbc news.

a british embassy worker has been killed in beirut. the body of rebecca dykes was found by the side of a road in the city yesterday. what do we know about the circumstances and timing? police sources believe rebecca dykes was murdered on friday night. they said they believed she had been strangled. an autopsy has been carried out and they will do another. rebecca dykes worked at the embassy in beirut, having been there since january. she worked for the department for international development and we have a statement from the foreign office in london who say they are liaising with the lebanese authorities, and also working with rebecca dykes' family. the foreign office issued a statement from the family and they

said they are devastated by the loss of our beloved rebecca and doing all they can to understand what happened. an important part of the world in terms of britain's presence in the middle east. a terrible thing for the expat community, those involved with the foreign office and those who work for other organisations to come to terms with. i have put spent time in beirut for the bbc and there is a big, young, expat community working in aid agencies, embassies, and friday night in beirut is a lively night out, it is a party city. we do not know what went on on this evening. people will be taking in that news and obviously for colleagues and her family, it is terrible. thank you. i know you will bring more as we get it. police investigators are trying to find out what caused

a crash involving several cars in an underpass in birmingham this morning in which six people were killed. several others suffered serious injuries. firefighters have described the scene as challenging and horrific. phil mackie is in birmingham. the immediate aftermath of the crash. debris strewn across four lanes. medics were desperately trying to save lives, but five people were already dead, and a sixth was dying. the rest of the footage is too graphic to show. in daylight, the scale of what happened became clearer. three of the people who died were in this taxi. astonishingly, the man and the woman in the small car crushed between it and the wall walked away with minor injuries. the sound of the crash woke many of the people who live nearby. got out of bed, looked out the window and just saw loads of people running towards where the crash was. and then the police officers telling everyone to get back, get back, so i guess people were trying to help people. they pulled two people out of the taxi. i didn't realise it was a taxi until today, but they will two

until today, but they pulled two people out of the taxi, resuscitating them straightaway for about 25 minutes. took one in the ambulance come i didn't see them take the second one away, so i don't know if they didn't make it, but it was havoc. the crash happened on a section of the belgrave middleway, a busy road in the heart of birmingham. the vehicles collided at an entrance to an underpass at the junction of bristol road. police say the dual carriageway will probably stay closed for the rest of the day. investigators will be looking at a number of factors. the road was gritted, but eight hours before the accident. did cars cross carriageways? residents say especially when it is late at night and the road is quiet, people will come along here at excess speeds. it will take some time to unpick the scene and just understand exactly what has happened, and it would be unfairfor me to speculate at this time.

what i can say is that we are looking to all sorts of conditions, the road conditions, we are aware of the road was gritted 5pm last night but that is just one factor of many we need to consider. a0 firefighters helped free survivors. it what was described as a complex scene. it quickly became apparent there could not be a lot done to save the lives of some of those patients unfortunately. again, very difficult circumstances, as you have already alluded to, very close to christmas, so our thoughts are with the families and friends of those patients involved. there were a total of 13 casualties, including the six who died, with six vehicles damaged. police described the accident as harrowing. investigations into what caused it are likely to take some time. our correspondent matthew thompson sent us the latest from the scene. harrowing, the description of the

police, horrific the description of the fire service which, in the mouths of hardened veterans of these incidents conveys the terrible nature of this accident. you can see over my shoulder to the left, three, four cars, which seemed to have escaped the worst of the damage. we are told people in those circles largely sustained minor injuries. in the right, the black taxi which has been flipped on its side and we'll told three people, including the driver, were killed. beside it another vehicle damaged almost beyond recognition and we'll told miraculously two people escape from that vehicle with light injuries. further down the tunnel, there is another vehicle that has three... it had three passengers who lost their lives and another is in hospital in critical condition. there has been

frenetic activity with forensics officers trying to piece together what happened. in the past 20 minutes they have begun the sombre task of removing the bodies of those who lost their lives. we have spoken to local residents and they talk of speeding being common on this wide, long stretch of road. it is too early to say whether that had anything to do with this incident but it will feature in the police line of enquiry. a tragedy at any time of year is upsetting but all the more so given we are close to christmas. matthew thompson. the government is considering extending automatic enrolment into a workplace pension, to 18—year—olds, from 2020. currently the starting age is 22, for anyone earning more than £10,000. workers can opt out, but the change could affect around 900,000 people. joe lynam reports. ollie and nate are both 21. ollie on the left has not yet started saving for his retirement. it has not really

crossed my mind yet. i movejobs quite frequently, tend not to stay in one place too long. so pensions have been lower down the list of things i have been conscious of. nate, though, has been saving for his retirement since since he was 16. i grew up with a family on welfare, so i was quite aware of the effects of being reliant on government money can have. and how insecure it can be sometimes. if the work and pensions secretary david gauke has his way, young people like ollie and nate could soon be automatically enrolled for a pension at their employers. that, i think, will get more people into the habit of saving. it will mean younger people will be saving for those extra years, so that is significant when it comes to their retirement. at the moment, only those aged over 22 are automatically included in a pension scheme by their employers, but the government wants that age lowered to 18. soon, 8% of our salaries will be

going into a pension pot, something that employers are worried about. i think what the government needs to bear in mind however is how much of the cost of that is going to be falling on employers in the future, because already the cost for employers is on course to treble by 2019. today's announcement means the cost to employers will be even higher than that. to 18 or even 21—year—olds, retirement must seem a very long way off, especially if they don't earn much, but if this plan proceeds, it could help younger people depending on the state in decades to come. joe lynam, bbc news. the prime minister says developments over last ten days have marked a watershed in the uk's departure from the european union. writing in two newspapers this morning, theresa may said the government is "proving the doubters wrong" after the eu agreed to move on to the next phase of negotiations — but labour say the government's brexit plans are a mess. earlier our political correspondent chris mason

explained mrs may's comments. effectively what she was saying was a defiant message, the essence saying there might have been bumps in the road with the aborted attempt to deal in brussels, which resulted in coming back and telephone diplomacy and another trip and the defeat in the house of commons last week, but the emphasis is to say step back from the noise and what didi step back from the noise and what did i say i would achieve? sufficient progress on the divorce package if you like to move on to the future relationship by christmas and that is what i have managed to do. i suppose you could forgive her triumphalism, given how much noise and headlines there were about how this would be impending doom if she did not get a deal. but she has then

the big challenge in the new year of the big challenge in the new year of the next stage and crucially there will be discussion in the cabinet meeting on tuesday, what on earth does she want? what kind of relationship does the government wa nt relationship does the government want with the european union, the other side of a transition period. and there is a discussion about mailing down the transition period, which we talk about a lot. it has not been agreed. exactly. on trade, it is interesting. a lot of people said they were slightly taken aback with some of the vociferous brexiteers, seeming to accept the deal in brussels, and seemed to think it was a good deal. now we have some of them may be kicking up a bit with jacob rees—mogg. what he said has been picked up by boris johnson. he is the foreign secretary, part of the team supposedly responsible for the deal that will be progressed. is he

kicking against the prime minister on this? it is a powerful word, kicking against the prime minister on this? it is a powerfulword, and jacob rees—mogg is talking about the transition period and on the face of it, the idea of a transition period, implementation period, it loses on the face of it pragmatism. whatever your views around brexit, the transition will be a smooth decline, which ever way you want to put it. but step back and you saw with the intervention ofjacob but step back and you saw with the intervention of jacob rees—mogg, but step back and you saw with the intervention ofjacob rees—mogg, the potential it has to be unsatisfying to anyone regardless of your views. you have people like nigel farage saying, and you might imagine there could not be a situation where he would say this, that it is worse than being a member of the european

union! and his argument, which has a logic, from his perspective, the downsides of membership remain, the hymn, being in the single market and free movement, and you are no longer around the table to have an argument on how those policies work. we were talking about this a few years ago when we speculated on what would happen after a referendum and i remember going to norway and meeting the foreign minister, who was telling me we want this relation with you, we have opted out of bits we don't like but we have to accept all the other rules and all decisions made and we call it fax diplomacy. is that what jacob rees—mogg implies, that we will be in that situation at least in the transition period? yes and for him worse than that because the argument that came from the summit was the adoption to use the lingo, the fall

telephone directory of rules that the uk will remain bound by and potentially new rules that come down the track although the prime minister made the argument there will not be that many new rules because the process takes so long. something being discussed now might be implemented during the transition period and we still round the table at the moment. the transition period, in terms of politics, you will have jacob rees—mogg nigel farage making the argument it is worse than being in, and others would rather had the uk stayed in and saying it is worse because we are no longer around the table. what will be fascinating, is there any wriggle room at all in those negotiations over the transition period over elements of membership, for instance, fisheries policy. before christmas every year the

fisheries council discusses craters and allowable catches of fish in the celtic sea and all over the place. fishermen were grumpy about it because of this decision in cornwall. they crumble around the table. imagine how loud the grumbles will be if they are not if during a period of the eu decides fishing quotas of cornish fishermen, or off the coast of aberdeen, and there is no say. can there be in the negotiations of that implementation period, wriggle room overfor insta nce period, wriggle room overfor instance fishing policy? it looks like the answer will be no. there was an interesting line in theresa may's article today suggesting the finer points of the negotiation of the implementation period were still to come. that is true because there have not been any discussions but i wonder if there will be an attempt to find wriggle room. that is a start, the briefest insight of brexit politics in 2018. there will

be plenty more to come. the headlines on bbc news: a british woman, rebecca dykes, has been killed in beirut, the foreign office says. she worked for the department for international development. plans to automatically enrol hundreds of thousands of young people in workplace pensions for the first time, to help them save for retirement. "serious doubts" over military savings — mps warns the ministry of defence will struggle to pay for newjets, warships and armoured vehicles. eight people have been killed and dozens injured in an attack on a church in the pakistani city of quetta. a celebration ahead of christmas targeted by extremists. pakistan's police and army firing shots as they surrounded the church. earlier, the

attackers' efforts to get in and kill as many as they could captured on cctv. watch the man in brown, who suddenly reveals a machine gun and sta rts suddenly reveals a machine gun and starts to try to access the church compound. his accomplice falls over. it takes them a long time to climb the gate, but it is chilling to watch, as the men wearing suicide vests exchanged shots with security guards, imagine the panic in the church nearby. officials say one of the attackers was shot dead at the entrance to the compound. a second man detonated his vest near the church bodies of those killed brought to the local mortuary. too much for relatives, their loved ones killed a week before christmas. at local hospitals, those injured spoke of theirfear as local hospitals, those injured spoke of their fear as the attackers did all they could to get inside the church.

translation: we were in the church and when we heard gunfire we closed the doors. the firing continued. then there was an explosion by the church door. the group that calls itself islamic state claimed responsibility, which pakistan's president described as cowardly. two senior members of the anc have been chosen as candidates to be party leader. the process to find a successor to jacob zuma had been delayed. our africa editor spoke to us delayed. our africa editor spoke to us earlier. given the division in the weeks leading up to the conference and the divisions i have seen on conference and the divisions i have seen on the conference floor in the last hour, supporters of the man coming in saying he will clean up corruption and supporters of n kosaza na corruption and supporters of nkosaza na dlamini—zuma, the corruption and supporters of nkosazana dlamini—zuma, the ex—wife of presidentjacob nkosazana dlamini—zuma, the ex—wife of president jacob zuma, nkosazana dlamini—zuma, the ex—wife of presidentjacob zuma, a significant politician in her own

right, i have seen between them polarisation in this party, and who ever emerges victorious, and when the votes are counted, it is a huge task for them. first in trying to unite the party which has had much infighting. and then if they managed to unite the anc and lead it to victory in elections of 2019, there isa victory in elections of 2019, there is a huge task to persuade the majority of south african voters the anc has turned its back on the age of corruption, of what is called state capture where cronies of president zuma allegedly in return for kickbacks were given chunks of state enterprise, vast sums of taxpayers' money. it is a big job to persuade south africans. the major concern, it will define whether the anc continues to be the dominant electoral force of this country. we

should have a result by around 5am, as dawn comes up injohannesburg. reporting on the election of a new leader of the anc and we expect the outcome of the postal ballot, secret ballot, many which have taken place by post tomorrow. mps have expressed "serious doubts" that the ministry of defence will be able to afford all the new military equipment it plans to buy. a report by the commons defence select committee says the mod will struggle to make the necessary savings it needs to pay for newjets, warships and armoured vehicles, as ian palmer reports. she is the flagship of the royal navy. hms queen elizabeth, commissioned by her majesty the queen, early this month. hms queen elizabeth, commissioned by her majesty the at 280 metres long, she has space for a0 jet planes. but defence in the 21st—century does not come cheap. the biggest warship the british navy has ever had cost more than £3 billion.

another aircraft carrier is being built in scotland. the ministry of defence want to spend £178 billion on more military equipment over the next ten years. it has to make savings to achieve that goal. to do that, it will have to sell buildings, and make efficiencies. however, the defence committee is extremely doubtful the mod can make those savings from an already stretched budget. the committee says funding pressures will inevitably lead to a reduction in the number of warships, jets and armoured vehicles the mod can buy. the government is currently carrying out a defence review. it is widely expected to recommend more cuts. with the changing nature of and increase in global threats, it is said britain

needs to strengthen its armed forces. but will the government have the cash to pay for it? a man has been arrested in sydney for allegedly acting as a black—market agent to sell missile components and coalfor north korea. australian police have charged 59—year old chan han choi with brokering illegal exports from north korea, including coal to groups in vietnam and indonesia — phil mercer reports. australian police say there was evidence that chan han choi had been in contact with high—ranking officials in north korea. investigators believe the 59—year—old suspect, who has lived in australia for more than 30 years, was a loyal agent of pyongyang. he was arrested at his suburban home in sydney. mr chan is accused of trying to sell guidance software for ballistic missiles, as well as north korean military expertise, to foreign buyers. authorities say the sales could have been worth tens of millions of dollars to the regime of kim jong—un. they also allege he has breached both united nations

and australian sanctions. we think he is acting as an economic agent on behalf of north korea. doing it for patriotic purpose. i think he would sell whatever he could to make money back for the north korean government. i think it shows sanctions are biting, the fact we have people involved in these types of activities. the australian prime minister, malcolm turnbull, says more punitive measures to rein in the rogue state are needed. north korea is a dangerous, reckless, criminal regime, threatening the peace of the region. it supports itself by breaching un sanctions, not simply by selling commodities like coal and other goods, but also by selling weapons, by selling drugs, by engaging in cybercrime. it is vitally important that

all nations work relentlessly to enforce those sanctions, because the more economic pressure that can be brought on north korea, the sooner that regime will be brought to its senses. the prime minister has previously argued that north korea should be seen as a criminal entity operating under the guise of a state. the case against chan han choi is the first of its kind in australia. until now, no one has been charged under the country's weapons of mass destruction act. if convicted he faces up to ten years in prison. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. a french sailor has smashed the world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe. huge crowds welcomed him after crossing the finishing line in the channel on

sunday morning, beating the previous record by more than six days. sailing home to a hero's welcome in north—western france. the 34—year—old celebrates smashing the record for circumnavigating the world. he did it six days faster than the previous record—holder, surpassing all his expectations. translation: i only had a little hope i would break the record. i never imagined i would beat it by so much. i was lucky i was successful. the crew of a helicopter tracking his progress towards the french coast earlier asked him how he felt about being on the verge of breaking the record. he said he had been lucky with the weather, but his ultra—high—tech yacht was also a major factor. it can ultra—high—tech yacht was also a majorfactor. it can reach ultra—high—tech yacht was also a major factor. it can reach speeds up

to 40 major factor. it can reach speeds up to a0 mph. it was all so different in 1969 when the british sailor robin knoxjohnston in 1969 when the british sailor robin knox johnston became in 1969 when the british sailor robin knoxjohnston became the first person to sail single—handed nonstop around the world. i was 312 days, he is a2 days, 16 hours, phenomenal. the way we have moved on, the design of boats, material, fibre as opposed to being wooden. bigger sales. it leads to faster boats. and you have satellite now so you can get instant weather information, which was not available 50 years ago. the french sailor's achievement is a moment of great personal pride. even the french president has praised him. but he believes his record will also be broken soon as the design of yachts evolves even further. prince harry has interviewed barack obama, for bbc radio

a's today programme. the interview was recorded at the invictus games in october. he takes over the show on the 27th of december and ahead of that he gave the politician interview advice. doi do i have to speak faster? not at all. if you start taking long pauses between the answers, you will probably start to get the face. let me see the face. there will be a 20 minute package and we hope to use the whole thing asa and we hope to use the whole thing as a podcast. excellent. ok, i am ready. do you guys have sound? sounding great. you're excited about this,

i'm nervous about this. it's fine. i'll interview you if you want. let's keep it this way, i'd much prefer that! prince harry. the today programme on the 27th of december at the usual time of 6am. now the weather. phil avery is on the balcony. good evening. how is it looking for the last week before christmas? it has problems. today it has been a december dave for many with a frosty night to come and if the day has looked like that you will wonder whether that will come from. we are getting rid of the cloud, as we have in scotland. it will move towards the near continent. maybe lingering in the south—west. a cool start

widely across the board. watch out forfog widely across the board. watch out for fog patches. a widely across the board. watch out forfog patches. a lot widely across the board. watch out for fog patches. a lot of decent weather around and cool on the eastern side. mild in the west. monday and tuesday, i said it was a quiet start, the conditions perfect for the formation of fog. i am highlighting central, southern and eastern parts of england we think at this range. they could be badly affected and not just this range. they could be badly affected and notjust in the morning, some could linger throughout the day. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines at 6.30pm. a british embassy worker in beirut has been found dead, police