this is bbc news, i'm shaun ley. the headlines at midday... thousands of people head to the beach and take to boats, seeking refuge from bush fires in australia. helicopters and the navy are deployed to help. nothing prepares you for that bearing down of a fire wall charging down on a community. massive walls of fire coming straight at you. jasper, put your blanket up. a crew battling the fires in new south wales recorded the moment when their truck was overrun , they sheltered inside as the fire front passed through. former nissan boss carlos ghosn flees to lebanon, despite being under house arrest injapan, where he was being held on charges of financial misconduct. the first civil partnerships ceremonies for heterosexual couples

in england and wales are being held, giving them similar rights to people who are married. the new yearfireworks begin — auckland the first big city to welcome in 2020. doris day, clive james, toni morrison and albert finney — just a few of the big names who've died this year and who's lives we mark in ‘review 2019: we remember‘. that's in half an hour's time, here on bbc news. devastating bushfires across large parts of australia have claimed two more lives.

the latest victims, a 63—year—old man and his 29—year—old son died in new south wales. in the neighbouring state of victoria, thousands of people were forced to seek refuge on beaches and boats after becoming trapped by advancing bushfires. residents and holiday—makers in mallacoota in east gippsland described how the morning sky was turned black by clouds of ash and embers. phil mercer reports. stuck in a nightmare. the sky in mallacoota turned a grotesque red, as strong winds pushed out of control bushfires towards the popular seaside town about 500 kilometres east of melbourne. thousands of people were trapped and sought shelter on the beach. some waded into the water to escape red hot embers that rained down. 0thers fled by boat, but most waited patiently for the danger to pass, or for help to arrive. it's still a dynamic and dangerous situation, so we've got embers going into mallacoota at the moment. we've got 4,000 people on the beach there, that are being very well

protected by our firefighters. the australian navy could be brought in to provide food, water, and power to communities isolated by the fires. once again, very hot temperatures and gusty winds have combined to make this another dangerous and destructive day. at least two people have died and several others are missing, as dozens of blazes rage in south—eastern australia. the authorities say that many houses have been lost. the new south wales rural fire service commissioner, shane fitzsimmons, says this is the state's worst bushfire season on record. the crisis shows no sign of ending. for many australians, the new year will bring more anxiety and fear. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney.

well this is the shocking moment a fire and rescue truck was overrun by a bushfire burning in new south wales, with the crew being forced to shelter as the fire passed through. left, left, left! radio chatter. copy. fires on the road already. jasper? jasper, put the blanket up.

quite a powerful image because yesterday a firefighter was killed when his truck was clipped by the force of the wind and fire causing it to go, he was crushed as a result of that lost his life. the remainder of that lost his life. the remainder of the source of dangers firefighters are putting themselves into every single day. for the last four months. david jeffery runs a b&b in mallacoota and had to seek refuge on the beach when the fires struck. he gave us an update on the situation. well, it's evening now, so things are... ..people are settling a little bit.

behind us, there's still active fire. that there is fire trucks filling up from the inland here, a bit of salt water and everything, still driving around trying to douse the fires. 0ccasionally, another house goes, unfortunately. notjust another house, it's people we love and care about and it's their dreams going up in smoke. this is a beautiful, beautiful part of the world. we know the dangers when we live out in these areas. yes, it's been dry, but these are eucalyptus, these are forests, they're here because they've been selected by fires over many centuries. they're the only ones that survive, everything else has gone over those many centuries. so, we know the dangers, but the reality is we might know it but we don't really know it. when it goes off today, it's horrendous. i'm just thinking, i don't want to ever go through this again. i think i'll go and live

in that time again. man, it was just... nothing prepares you for that bearing down of a fire front charging at a community. we're talking massive walls of fire, coming straight at you. we had 4,000 people... let me show you. all along here, along the wall, along here, everyone ready to dive into the water if it got here. it didn't. thank god we didn't get the fire balls hitting us here because we would have had mass casualties. but, yeah, thank god. it was answered, the prayer. thank you, jesus, you really answered us. even though it might not look like he has, there could have been hundreds killed, if not more than that. we are lucky and thankful we've had a little bit of rain. we've got the authorities, here doing their bit, the government doing things with the militaryjust off here. they've been feeding us with pies and all sorts of things. but it's still going on. some people are trying to go back out there to their homes,

i'm tempted to too, because miraculously our b&b is still standing, i don't know if you can see in the distance. i thought i was watching it burn to the ground today. we would have if i'd had to, but i was finding it hard, emotionally, watching other peoples homes. people i know and care about and love. we're very close. in small communities, when you have a thousand people... you get that anywhere, there is love and care. it is gut—wrenching to go through. i don't know how i can look these people in the eye, that my home survives and theirs doesn't. i just feel terrible. in one hour, sydney starts. celebrating 2020, celebrations may be muted this year. the former head of the renault—nissan car company, carlos ghosn has flown to lebanon,

saying he could not getjustice injapan. mr ghosn, who's spent 9 months under house arrest on charges of financial misconduct, is believed to have arrived in beirut by private jet. in a statement, he described his treatment in japan as "political persecution", and said he would no longer be "held hostage" by what he called a "rigged japanese justice system". the former head of the renault—nissan car company, carlos ghosn has flown to lebanon, saying he could not getjustice carlos ghosn shouldn't have been able to leave japan. he'd surrendered his passport and was supposed to ask for a court's permission to travel. so when he unexpectedly arrived in lebanon, japanese authorities were stunned and left scrambling for answers. in a statement, mr ghosn said...

it's a marked turnaround for a man once revered in japan. carlos ghosn was one of the great tycoons of the car industry. at one point, nissan, renault and mitsubishi were all under his control. he was a very powerful car executive who was particularly known for his efficient cost cutting, which saved nissan in essence, yeah, so a hard—nosed businessman, who seemed to have a very good touch in turning companies around. but all that changed in november 2018. following accusations of significant acts of misconduct, including under—reporting his pay, and the personal use of company assets, ghosn was arrested and faces trial injapan. the former nissan boss

denies wrongdoing. his lawyers accuse the japanese government of conspiring against him, calling the prosecution's case politically motivated. nissan workers gave their reaction to the news he'd gone to lebanon. translation: i've seen a few media reports. there are some things that ghosn did that i didn't understand. i think he fled because he did something. whoever escapes, wins. i envy people with money. translation: as ordinary japanese citizens, we want ghosn to reveal the truth. we want him to appear in an appropriate place and speak with his own words. after decades of corporate success and a year of sensational headlines, carlos ghosn's story has taken a dramatic turn. where it will end remains unknown. gareth barlow, bbc news. thousands of heterosexual couples in england and wales are expected to enter into civil partnerships from today. rebecca steinfeld and charles keidan finally became civil

partners this morning. they won their legal bid at the supreme court in 2018 for the right to have a civil partnership. it came after a long battle against the law that had previously only permitted same—sex couples to become civil partners. todayis today is a unique special and personal moment for us. a moment when we have been able to affirm our love and commitment to one another in the company of our children and close friends. and have that love and commitment given legal recognition of who we are, what we love and the life we value. we have shared muchjoy love and the life we value. we have shared much joy and love and the life we value. we have shared muchjoy and supported each other through the strains of life and loss. we have gained so much through the years, new friends, skills and even confidence and belief in our own agency and capability. against all odds, we succeeded in a legal battle against the government. and then they did what we ask for all along. not many

people can say that. one of the first couples celebrating. auckland in new zealand was the first major city to ring in the new year. thousands of people welcomed 2020 and the start of a new decade at a firework display at the city's sky tower. sydney will be the next capital to celebrate the new year in just under an hour's time. here, police are warning people not to attend new year celebrations on the river thames in london without a ticket, as the uk prepares to usher in 2020. more than 100,000 tickets have been bought for tonight's sold—out fireworks display, where approximately 12,000 fireworks are set to light up the capital's skyline when the clock strikes midnight. the metropolitan police is urging those without tickets to watch from home or attend other events in the city.

the government has announced that the national living wage will go up in aprilfor workers over the age of 25. rising by 6.2% the living wage from april will be £8.72 pence an hour. that's an increase of 51 pence an hour on the current. there's also a rise to the minimum wage for 21 to 2a years — going up to 8.20, an increase of 6.5%. dan tomlinson is a policy analyst at the resolution foundation — a think tank focusing on people on lower incomes. hejoins me now from oxford. thank you for talking to us on bbc news. how much data do we have about the impact the national minimum wage has had in the 20 years or so since it was introduced? the main factors that the living wage has had since

it was introduced, in 2015, this boost by george osborne, it has given hundreds if not thousands of pounds into the pockets of the lowest pa id workers pounds into the pockets of the lowest paid workers in the uk. this additional rise coming into force later this year is another welcome increase in the minimum wage for those aged 25 and above and it is a good thing, we should celebrate because we know this plastic it has been a tough one for living standards, for people across the whole country and across different brackets. we have seen that those at the bottom, those in the lowest wages have received some of the fastest pay increases because of the increases in the national living wage. the political parties are pretty much united on the benefits of this now, there was a lot of criticism from the right back in the 19905 criticism from the right back in the 1990s when the labour government started with what was then the national minimum wage, then the coalition government introduced the national living wage, in essence it is all part of a long—term process

to try to bring the incomes of the lowest pa id to try to bring the incomes of the lowest paid up but in the end, is that really having an effect? because a lot of people are still in jobs classed as being in poverty. the increases in the national living wage have led to the first significant fall in low pay in the uk in decades. that is a welcome thing but you touched on something thatis thing but you touched on something that is really important, that is there is a difference between the pay that individuals receive, and the incomes that families as a whole receive and yes we do have a high proportion of families in the uk who are adults working but still in poverty and that is to do with yes the fact that wages have not been going across wage levels —— growing, but also because there are cuts to some other things at lower paid rely on such as universal credit and other forms of welfare support. so

all these different things are added together and overawed has a difficult time for family incomes as well recently. but that is why this policy announcement of a higher national living wage is a welcome announcement and it does need that the uk's wage laws, the minimum wage, will be one of the highest in an france economy is in the whole world. so —— advanced economies. there could be some groups more likely to be unemployed because the wage is too high at the bottom and the government should be looking really at the evidence in the years ahead. so farwe really at the evidence in the years ahead. so far we have not seen any evidence of negative effects on employment. so in general this is a good news story, more pay going to those on the lowest earnings. good news story, more pay going to those on the lowest earningslj good news story, more pay going to those on the lowest earnings. i was going to ask about the impact on businesses because business organisations said today it is great for the workers involved but it has

implications for businesses and their costs are not falling when you think of for example things like business rates for small businesses where they are still facing a lot of companies say a big struggle. presumably the danger of fear is that it will lead companies to hire fewer people so the benefits are for people in work with those trying to get a job, they lose out. is there any evidence to link, suggest that correlation between those two things? we have had relatively significant increases in the recent yea rs significant increases in the recent years and also record low levels of unemployment and record high levels of employment at the moment. this is a good time to be stretching our ambition on the minimum wage because unemployment is so low. the government said recently in the queen's speech they might not increase the minimum wage has classes they have recently. if there are, if there is a deterioration in the economic conditions and that is

at sensible approach because if things get worse and there is a recession, a surprising recession in the coming months or years ahead and the coming months or years ahead and the economy takes a turn for the worst then we might find more businesses who end up making decisions not to hire staff and on the minimum or lower wage and smaller businesses will invest in other ways that they can produce such as new technology. that is another reason why it has in some senses a good thing to have a stretching ambition on the minimum wage because it might encourage employers to continue to hire workers that also help them be more productive. to have more machines that help companies produce more output which is better for that help companies produce more output which is betterfor all of that help companies produce more output which is better for all of us and grows the economy and means wages can be higher. thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news...

military aircraft and naval ships are deployed in australia to help people affected by the worsening bushfires. former nissan boss carlos ghosn, jumps bail in tokyo and flees to lebanon claiming he cannot get a fair trial injapan. the first civil partnerships ceremonies for heterosexual couples in england and wales are being held, giving them similar rights to those who are married. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here'sjohn watson. there's a boost for england ahead of the second test on friday against south afrcia — batsmen 0llie pope says he's "ready to go" having recovered from the illness which has affected most of the squad. he along with chris woakes and jack leach sat out the first test defeat, three of eleven players who've been hit by a sickness bug it could not have come at worse timing with the test match but

luckily feeling all right now. feeling good for the last few days soiam on feeling good for the last few days so i am on the mend. ready to go. i was more feverish, for the first two days i stayed in bed really. i think i probably caught it off the guys who messed about a week of the warm up who messed about a week of the warm up games who messed about a week of the warm up games which was not ideal. it swept through the whole camp so there is not much we could have done. 0le gunnar solskjaer says he has money to spend in the january transfer window. the manchester united manager says he's happy with his attacking options, mason greenwood's breakthrough season compensating for the loss of romelu lukaku to inter milan in the summer. i am optimistic we can keep players fit. if the right ones become available we do have the resources. and i do have the backing from the board but it is also about getting the right ones, it has to be, there is no point suddenly thinking,

bringing someone else in there just for the sake of three orfour months. if that can disrupt any... not good feeling in the group, but the chemistry in the group because the chemistry is really good. gerwyn price has apologised for not shaking peter wright's hand after losing their pdc world darts championship semi—final. ‘snakebite' wright took the first set of this heated contest at ally pally, and seemed to revel in reminding his opponent who was on top. but price, the third seed, got his own back winning the second set, the pair almost coming together as things ramped up a little, with emotions threatening to spill over. wright kept his cool to win it 6—3, price took to social media today to "i've had time to reflect on last night's game, i overreacted to what peter did after set one,

i apologise to everyone who thinks i've done wrong and yeah maybe i was a bit 0tt' wright will face the reigning champion, michael van gerwen in tomorrow's final. the world number one beat nathan aspinall 6 sets to 3. the dutchman is looking to win the title for a fourth time. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. 0lly foster there. iraqi security forces have fired tear gas at thousands of militiamen protesting at the us embassy in baghdad. the protesters gathered outside the embassy to condemn air strikes carried out by the us on iranian—backed militia bases in iraq on sunday. with me now is bbc middle east analyst alan johnston.

the context is what the americans dead which they say they did in retaliation to something some of these groups had done to an american citizen? at the weekend the americans carried out a string of strikes on an iraqi militia group that has impact by iran. the americans say they are retaliating for attacks on their bases, one of which killed a us civilian recently. today there were funerals for some of those iraqi militia men killed at the weekend. they would have been highly charged and in the aftermath of them, ranks of angry iraqi militia men began to head towards the us embassy in the heart of baghdad. this is a building in what is called the green zone, a highly secure area in the heart of the capital but these marching militia men seem capital but these marching militia men seem to be pretty much waved through the checkpoint, suggesting

there was government blessing for this protest. as they converged on this protest. as they converged on this compound, chanting anti—american slogans, throwing stones, producing soon there were columns of black smoke going up above the seam. a guard post on an outer wall had been set ablaze, a door was forced open, dozens of these protesters managed to get into these protesters managed to get into the compound at that point, security forces defending the embassy fired tear gas in forces defending the embassy fired teargas in an forces defending the embassy fired tear gas in an effort to disperse them. president trump twitching that he held iran responsible for orchestrating the events this morning. in a sense, these militia men are echoing some of the points the iraqi government made. the acting prime minister on the phone on friday, sunday, pleading with the defence secretary of the us not to do itand defence secretary of the us not to do it and the americans went ahead anyway. what is the risk for the us in making this decision? it is a long time since the carried out

attacks inside iraq? the background is that over the last six weeks or more there have been a number of rocket attacks on bases that house us servicemen in the americans say they were repeatedly asking them to ta ke they were repeatedly asking them to take action to make sure these attacks stop, eventually after that us civilian was killed it would seem that the americans had had enough, they said they would hit back at the dead on sunday. at least 25 militia men killed. now the iraqi government call this a violation of its treaty, these are iraqi servicemen after all. you saw a really outraged reaction from the militia men themselves as you might expect. they promised to avenge their dead and the americans have been watching events in baghdad with great concern around their embassy but they will be worrying that at some point, the militia men may do as they say they will and start hitting again at

bases and us servicemen will be in danger. you pointed out they are effectively pa rt danger. you pointed out they are effectively part of the iraqi military. 0f effectively part of the iraqi military. of course, the us was operating happily with them until a few months ago and the fight against the group that called itself islamic state. is there a risk here that an already close relationship between iraq and iranjust gets already close relationship between iraq and iran just gets closer and the americans find themselves effectively squeeze out of that part of the middle east? you are right to see that this iraqi group is at least nominally part of the iraqi security forces but many people would say they are very close indeed to the iranians. the iranians revolution regard. so here, the wider picture is that that contention between the us and iran. so all of this all of these extreme

tensions are feeding into that wider background of tension. playing into the tensions between the us and iran. thank you very much. worst being outside tonight? i was saying you could let your hair down, not something i will be doing. it has been quiet over the course of the christmas period which will continue into the new year. this area of cloud cover is wales, the midlands and southern england, also working its way into northern ireland, hiding some list and patchy fog. we keep the sunshine scotland, northern england where it is colder thanit northern england where it is colder than it was yesterday after that frosty start this morning. heading towards midnight though, the start ofa towards midnight though, the start of a new year we can see the cloud increasing and pushing its way north, generally dry at midnight and

cloudy. still some patches of mist and fog and it will be cold enough for a touch of frost in north—eastern scotland. perhaps the north—eastern scotland. perhaps the north—east of england. that cloud will tend to fill in as we head into wednesday and it will be a cloudy day for the first day of the new year. maybe some sunshine in north wales, north—east england, more especially the released on wind in scotla nd especially the released on wind in scotland and later in northern ireland. double figures in the north west of scotland so to in this south—west of england which should be brighter than today.

hello this is bbc news with shaun ley. the headlines: thousands of people head to the beach and take to boats, seeking refuge from bush fires in australia. helicopters and the navy are deployed to help. jasper, put your blanket up. a crew battling the fires in new south wales recorded the moment when their truck was overrun. they sheltered inside as the fire front passed through. former nissan boss carlos ghosn flees to lebanon from japan, despite being barred from travelling as he awaits trial. thousands of iraqi militiamen have attacked the american embassy in baghdad, angry at us air strikes on theirforces. the first civil partnerships ceremonies for heterosexual couples in england and wales are being held, giving them similar rights