hello, this is bbc news this is bbc news. with lu kwesa burak. the headlines: the headlines... a ‘catastrophic fire a "catastrophic fire warning' is issued for parts warning" is issued for parts of eastern australia, including sydney, of eastern australia, including sydney, amid record—breaking temperatures following months of severe drought. these are very difficult and trying times. we are now up to day 105 of this bushfire emergency

across new south wales and the community really is going to have to stay alert and understand what they are going to do if threatened by fires. the government approves the takeover of uk defence and aerospace specialist cobham by an american company. a man who confronted the fishmongers hall attacker with a narwal tusk describes his "deep hurt" that he couldn't save the two people who died. prince philip spends the night in hospital in london to be treated for what's being described as a pre—existing condition. season's greetings — the prime minister serves a christmas lunch to british soldiers stationed in estonia. these troops here are giving the whole continent protection, support, a guarantee of their security and its quite an amazing thing to see. everton have their man,

carlo anchelotti returns to english football after signing a four—and—a—half year deal with the club. and later on i will be looking at the stories we have covered from britain's coastal towns. that is in half an hour. more than 100 bushfires are raging across australia's most populous state, new south wales. christmas travellers are being urged to delay their journeys. record temperatures of more than a0 degrees and strong winds have intensified the fires. australia's deputy prime minister, michael mccormack, has said australia must increase its efforts to tackle climate change. with more, here's our

sydney correspondent, shaimaa khalil. this was said to be one of the worst days australia's most popular state has ever seen, and it's lived up to every urgent warning. huge flames spiralling out of control, moved by strong, unpredictable wind. firefighters have been patrolling this area throughout the day. they have been keeping an eye out on the smoke just behind that tree line. this is where villagers have fires at an emergency level and they've been told to evacuate and they're concerned that embers will blow this way. elizabeth maclaren evacuated her house a few hours ago. she packed the necessities and a few other things she couldn't afford to lose. her family's ok, but she worries about those she left behind. i hope my house doesn't burn down but, ultimately, all of my friends stayed to fight the fires at their house. they can't get out now, so i'm just hoping that they're safe.

i can replace my house — i can't replace lives, you know? australia's prime minister, scott morrison, has cut short his holiday to hawaii, as criticism continued to mount of his leadership during the bushfire crisis. it's brought the divisive debate about global warning back to the fore. scientists have long warned that a hotter, drier climate would contribute to australia's fires becoming more frequent and more intense. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, mittagong, new south wales. the family behind the british defence company, cobham, has criticised the government for approving a £4 billion take—over by an american firm. a merger between the dorset—based manufacturer and us private equity group advent was agreed injuly, but it was delayed over national security concerns. the business secretary, andrea leadsom, who announced the decision late last night, said it had been taken in conjunction with defence chiefs.

lady cobham said the announcement had been "cynically timed" to avoid scrutiny. our business correspondent, katy prescott, reports. one of the uk's oldest defence companies. a pioneer of air—to—air refuelling, cobham started life in the 1930s as a flying circus. for the last few months, the government has been grappling with whether to allow its sale to the american private equity firm, advent. the daughter—in—law of the founder has been critical. she says: "this is a deeply disappointing announcement and one cynically timed to avoid scrutiny on the weekend before christmas. in one of its first major economic decisions, the government is not taking back control so much as handing it away." borisjohnson, arriving in estonia to greet uk troops earlier today. in the run up to the sale, the ministry of defence said it was concerned about the change of ownership because of giving away access to information and risk

to existing programmes. to allay those fears, the government says advent has agreed to ensure that sensitive government information continues to be protected. to honour the terms of existing contracts, and give prior notice to the ministry of defence and home office if there are any plans to sell the whole or any parts of cobham's business. defence analysts believe the company is already strongly linked to america, a uk ally. advent have given every protection to the mod, on top of those protections that were already there, so i'm not worried about the national security aspect whatsoever. and secondly, cobham needs to grow. it needs a better base, it needs the opportunities, and i think under a new ownership, it will get them. it won't have to look over its shoulders at shareholders. the government says that the agreement with advent is legally enforceable, and any breach could be pursued through the courts. katy prescott, bbc news.

eric grove is a visiting fellow at the international institute for strategic studies, he told us how significant the air—to—air fuelling technology is. it is very significant indeed. 0bviously in—flight refuelling is an important part of any country's innovation capability but on the other hand, we are so dependent on the americans anyway that i don't really see this makes a huge amount of difference. we are very heavily integrated already, probably even more so integrated already, probably even more so after we leave the eu, so i am not too concerned. i can understand why the cobham family are concerned about this because this was very much a british initiative, in—flight refuelling was very much pioneered by cobham, but i don't see this being a great problem. in fact, we are so this being a great problem. in fact, we are so integrated with the united

states anyway that this is just an additional, just a slight change in the balance. that was eric grove there. the prime minister is in estonia today visiting british armed forces at a nato base, and was asked about the cobham deal. a lot of czechs have gone through to make sure that in particular case all the security issues that might be raised and be satisfied and the uk will continue to be a very, very creative and dynamic contributor to that section of industry and all others. boris johnson was also asked why he felt his visit to estonia was important to. i am here to support oui’ important to. i am here to support our troops because they are doing an amazing job. this is an enhanced forward presence, so we have got armoured infantry here, 850

uk troops showing that we support dystonia, we support the outer boundaries of nato. these troops are giving the whole continent protection, support, a guarantee of their security and quite an amazing thing to see. when i was younger, this was part of the soviet union and this is now the guarantee, the uk is providing the guarantee for security for the whole continent, particularly here and they certainly value it. your defence minister says the armed forces needs to cut the cloth too much ambition. are you going to be managing the finances?” ama going to be managing the finances?” am a big supporter of our armed forces, they do a massive amount of good around the world. we are the second biggest player in nato with the biggest military in europe, we believe in supporting our armed services. we do that in an efficient way but as you know we are increasing our budget by 2.2

billion, you know about all the investments we a re billion, you know about all the investments we are making in our armed services, this will continue. the man who fought off the attacker at fishmongers hall near london bridge, using a narwhal tusk, has given a dramatic account of how he was able to stop the knifeman and pin him to the ground. two people died in the attack last month. civil servant darryn frost has described how usman khan was running towards people with knives, raised above his head, and wearing what looked like a suicide vest. this report from rich preston. this is the dramatic moment passers—by attempted to stop convicted terrorist usman khan. his attack had begun at fishmongers' hall, where he had just killed two people. it was there darryn frost, a civil servant, took on khan, with others attending a prisoner rehabilitation event. describing for the first time what happened, mr frost told the press association that he took a narwhal task to defend himself after hearing a commotion

from the floor below. he described the moment khan ran at him with knives raised above his head. he went on to recall chasing khan onto london bridge, where a group wrestled him to the ground, stopping him attacking anyone else, or set off what they thought was a suicide vest. talking about jack merritt and saskia jones, who were both killed by khan, mr frost said he will always feel the deep hurt of not being able to save them. he said he hoped speaking out would urge people to unite against terrorism and raise money for the victims‘ families. the duke of edinburgh has spent the night in hospital in london, after being admitted for treatment for a pre—existing condition. prince philip — who's 98 — travelled there yesterday, from the sandringham estate in norfolk. buckingham palace officials said the admission was a ‘precautionary measure'. he's expected to remain

there for a few days. the bbc‘s simon jones is at the king edward vii hospital in london — where the duke is being treated — and has the latest. there's been no update from the palace overnight on the condition of prince philip, and i think that's not surprising, given that he is a very private person, particularly since he's decided to step back from official royal duties. and also, the palace will not want to give a running commentary on his condition over the coming days. what we do know is that he arrived here at the hospital yesterday morning. the palace have refused to confirm, or deny reports, that he was actually flown from sandringham to london by helicopter, but we were told when he did arrive here, he was able to walk into the hospital without any problem. as prince philip was travelling here from sandringham, the queen was travelling in the opposite direction, getting a train to norfolk to begin her christmas break, that she usually spends

with prince philip. i think we can read into that that although there is concern about prince philip's condition, he is of course 98 years old, there's not really a sense of alarm at this stage at the palace. now, they haven't said what he's been treated for. they say it's a pre—existing medical condition. we know that recently, he had a hip replacement operation, a few years before that he had surgery on his abdomen, he's also had a stent fitted to deal with a blocked artery. but they're not revealing any further details. what the key question now is is whether prince philip is going to be ready to leave this hospital in time to spend christmas with other members of the royal family. the christmas decorations are up here. there is also tight security. that key question, will he be well enough to leave you to spend christmas with the queen? nearly a hundred flood warnings are in place across southern and eastern england, the midlands and yorkshire.

the met office says more rain is expected in southwest england this afternoon. motorists heading out on roads for christmas, are being advised to check their routes in advance. there are currenlty a dozen flood warnings in place across surrey where our correspondent adrian harms warns that there is more rain to come. this is the river wey which is in flood. it is still raining and the situation here looks like it will get worse before it gets any better. there is a lot of water making its way down the river. there is more rain forecast for the rest of the day and overnight. the two main rivers where there are flood warnings are the river mould. this morning there were six flood warnings there. some of which have been dropped to the lowest state flood alert but there is still

a flood alert but there is still a flood warning in leatherhead. the environment agency has been working ha rd environment agency has been working hard is putting out flood defences around the town and currently they seem to be working. the same is happening in guildford. there are a number of flood defences around the town, around the cinema and bus depot and police station where flood defences are in place. there is a flood alert here on the river wey so yet to be raised to a winning and people are hoping levels do not go higher certainly for the rest of the day but more rain forjune today and overnight tonight. meanwhile, it is busy on the roads today as the christmas getaway begins. the independent‘s travel editor — simon calder — says traffic is expected to be at its worst tomorrow. because of wear on christmas day is, in the middle of the week, this spreads the load. we have already seen spreads the load. we have already seen wednesday, thursday, friday,

today will be pretty miserable between ten and three, so right up until three o'clock this afternoon, if you can postpone yourjourney after that, that will be good. the rac is particularly warning of going southbound on the m a0 through bucks and then probably the worst of the whole christmas bell, tomorrow between ten and four with particular warnings going north on the mi and then also on the good old m25, particularly the western section of it. the headlines on bbc news: a ‘catastrophic fire warning' is issued for parts of eastern australia , including sydney , amid record—breaking temperatures following months of severe drought. the government approves the takeover of uk defence and aerospace specialist cobham by an american company. a man who confronted the fishermongers hall attacker with a narwal tusk describes his "deep hurt" that he couldn't save the two

people who died. president trump has signed into a law, the creation of a us space force, the country's first new military service in 70 years. he described space as "the world's newest war—fighting domain". the force's creation is part of a $738 billion defence bill, voted through by congress last week. there are going to be a lot of things happening in space because space is the world's newest warfighting domain. amid grave threats to our national security, america's superiority in space is absolutely vital. and we are leading, but we are not leading by enough. but shortly, we will be leading by a lot. the space force will help us deter aggression and control the ultimate high ground.

facebook says it has removed hundreds of accounts with ties to a conservative news outlet, that uses fake profile photos — generated with the help of artificial intelligence. researchers said the facebook and instagram fake profiles, generate thousands of personalities who emphasize support for president trump , and opposition to the chinese government. peter bowes is following the story from los angeles. it shows what technology can achieve these days. in terms of generating these images, faces that look like the profile shots of ordinary people, but they are fake. they are generated by algorithms. there is absolutely nothing real about them. they don't represent real people. they have been generated by users in vietnam, say facebook, purporting to be americans. they have removed several hundred of these facebook accounts, as you say, along

with instagram sites, and various pages, as well, that carried with their messages which were anti—china, that were pro trump, or generated conversations about family values, or elections, or impeachment, a lot of those important issues which are in the news at the moment. peter bowes reporting there. christmas celebrations in the uk, often centre on food, drink and family gatherings, but campaigners are warning, that the party season can place additional strain on those living with eating disorders. the nhs and the eating disorder charity beat have issued new advice for people with conditions such as anorexia and bulimia, on how to cope at christmas. stand—up comedian, dave chawner, shared his story. when it first started for me, i was 17, and i remember back then, i had got exams, i had got essays, i had research, all of the stresses and strains that

most teenagers have. but i didn't have a coping mechanism, i didn't have a way of dealing with it, and actually, focusing on calories, focusing on exercise and weighing myself was something that i could control. so it was something that became really important because when everything felt really unmanageable, those are the things that i could manage. those are the things that i could focus on, and over time, that became an obsession, an addiction, it became a control that, it was something that i could focus on when everything else felt like it was completely unmanageable. one of the misconceptions about anorexia is people think that anorexics don't like food or don't think about food, but that was my every waking thought. because as soon as i say to you, you can't have anything, that is the only thing that you can think about. so i was constantly thinking about food, i was constantly totting up calories in my brain, i was constantly thinking of excuses or ways i could get out of things. and also something that we see with people with anorexia

is they tend to binge and purge a lot. so i was eating whole sausage rolls and stuff, not even chewing them, just getting them down. tom quinn is the director of external affairs at beat, the charity involved in this campaign. he explained how people can prepare and keep themselves busy, during the festive period. for many of us, it's a holiday that's focused on food, on eating, and so for people who have an illness that's focused on struggle with eating, it can be a really difficult time. also, it's a time, often, where usual routines and structures perhaps aren't quite in place, so it's really important that both people who are suffering and their families sort of plan ahead for this difficult time. is routine one of the things that helps people who are suffering from conditions like anorexia and bulimia, in terms of managing their condition, not suddenly throwing them into unexpected situations? exactly. so, what we'd suggest is the family get together beforehand

and actually plan out the meals, so that the person suffering knows exactly what's coming. we'd also recommend that any perhaps relatives that are coming along are also sensitively spoken to about actually, let's not make it about the food, let's not make comments about how people look, or what they're eating. actually, as much as possible, let's make it a family time but not focused on the meal. if you, or someone you know, has been affected by the issues raised in this, contact the bbc action line via bbc.co.uk/actionline for details of organisations which offer advice and support. for a number of years, there've been calls for stricter rules in schools, around the practise of restraining children , and now the authorities in scotland say, they'll introduce new guidance for teachers and support staff.

jayne mccubbin has been looking at the issue in schools across the uk. at the start of the year, we reported on children with additional needs who had been locked in isolation, physically restrained, and sometimes injured. we heard from parents and charities fighting for much greater regulation in schools. he was tied down. all of these methods of restraint. it is just heartbreaking to know that they did that to him. he put someone on a chair, strapped him in, it makes life easier for the staff, but it certainly wasn't a good thing for harry. schools might have to look after children with complex needs. children like harry have no other way of communicating but by their behaviour. harry's family is represented by one of the top human rights lawyers who argues restrictive practices are a breach of fundamental rights. people overseeing children with special needs such

as presented here have a difficultjob to do. it's a demanding job. but that cannot be at the expense of the interest of the young child. in my view, this point clearly to a breach of the human rights act. the department for education in northern ireland told breakfast that while reasonable force is allowed schools should report incidents. however, there is no legal obligation to do so. this week, scotland announced new guidance. it bans restraint and exclusions to discipline children. they have consistent reporting of incidents. the welsh government say they are also consulting on measures to limit the use of restrictive practices. the department for education in england told breakfast we will always back head teachers on discipline, but restraint should only be used when absolutely necessary. again, there is no legal obligation to report incidents. campaigners say they will continue to fight on for that statutory change. not only to report incidents, but to end

them. from next month, around 2000 children with severe epilepsy, will become eligible for a cannabis based treatment on the nhs in england. the charity epilepsy action said it could be life—changing, as our health editor, hugh pym reports. children with two types of severe epilepsy will be eligible for the cannabis—based medicine. they can suffer with multiple seizures each day. epidiolex has been shown by clinical trials to reduce the number of seizures by a0% in some children, if used in combination with another medicine. it will be available on prescription on the nhs in england from 6january, and is already accessible to patients in wales. epidiolex is still being appraised by regulators in scotland. the medicine contains the cannabis compound cdb, but not the compound thc. 0nly treatment with both constituents will help patients with epilepsy.

after lots of campaigning, the law was changed in 2018 so that specialist doctors could write a prescription for medicines containing the cbd and the thc. even though they are unlicensed, they have the right to put those prescriptions out. but shockingly, to our knowledge, since the law changed, not a single prescription has been issued on the nhs for the medicines that contain both the cbd and the thc. charlie hughes used to have up to 120 seizures a day. but, since he has been treated with cannabis oil, that number is down to single figures. the family, though, has to spend more than £1,300 a month to get the treatment through a private prescription. the latest announcement won't help them. everton have appointed carlo ancelotti as their manager on a a.5 year contract. the italian, who was sacked by napoli, succeeds marco silva,

who lost his job earlier this month. he was last in the premier league 8.5 years ago with chelsea where he added to his trophy laden cv. if you think that reversing into a tight spot can be a trickyjob, then take a look at these pictures of two cruise ships in a port, in mexico. the carnival glory, seen here on the right, was manouvering to dock, when it struck the carnival legend, which was already moored in the mexican resort of coza—mel. six guests suffered minor injuries, but the operator says both vessels are still seaworthy. it is time for the weather. lots of rain on the cards but really, any chance we could be seeing a dickensian white christmas? you know

what the answer to that is. you can head to the north pole, there it is already white. but here, no chance. the rain has been relentless, the ground is soggy, it is going to be mild, they will not be a snowflake insight in the run—up to christmas. it would have been nice to have a couple of it would have been nice to have a cou ple of fla kes it would have been nice to have a couple of flakes but as far as the weather in the short term is concerned, it's a completely different story. rain is the headline. there are warnings in force in southern parts of the uk and this is the next weather front thatis and this is the next weather front that is heading in our direction. it is starting to approach the south—west and through the course of this afternoon, the rain will spread across the southern counties, eventually reached london, there will be rain in the midlands also and later on, the rain will be more persistent in east anglia. but across the northern half, it's a different story. there will be clear spells are not much rain floor apart from the odd shower. 1 degrees

in newcastle, three in glasgow. here is sunday's forecast. they weather front you over us soon is out of the picture mostly and then behind it, we have low pressure still close by. we are expecting a day of sunshine and showers, so for some of us, sunday will be a bit changeable, there will be blue skies, clouds, occasional showers but in between, lots of bright if not sunny weather. 0n the whole on balance sunday for most of us is looking pretty good. here is the temperature tomorrow, 10 degrees in london, colder in the lowla nds degrees in london, colder in the lowlands of scotland, around 6 degrees. the christmas 0utlook, this is the start of christmas week. you can see the orange colours, the arrows are pushing that warm air in oui’ arrows are pushing that warm air in our direction and that can only mean one thing. it will be relatively mild. a bit of rain heading our way

but as far as monday is concerned, it is looking fine. the vast majority of the uk will be in the clear, there will be some sunshine apart from the north—west of scotla nd apart from the north—west of scotland where we could get some rain. but for most, monday is looking dry. monday is also looking dry, tuesday rather, so christmas eve is also looking fine across the uk. and then the big day itself, wednesday, i think we are looking at mostly fine weather as well. at least it will not be pouring this christmas. the weather could actually bring some sunny spells and pleasa nt actually bring some sunny spells and 00:30:38,362 --> 1431655368:04:55,385 pleasant 1431655368:04:55,385 --> 2863310735:39:12,406 walking 2863310735:39:12,406 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 weather.