australia deploys military aircraft and ships to help rescue people as bushfires continue to ravage large parts of the country. in the state of victoria, holidaymakers and residents took to the beach, preparing to head into the ocean as a last resort. elsewhere, terrifying ordeals forfire crews who had to shelter inside their vehicles, surrounded by flames. we'll bring you all the latest from our correspondent on the ground. also on tonight's programme... warning flares from the us military over baghdad tonight — after its embassy there was attacked by protestors. the former nissan boss carlos ghosn flees to lebanon from japan — where he faces trial over charges of financial misconduct.

the first mixed—sex couples enter into civil partnerships — following a lengthy legal battle for heterosexuals to be allowed to do so. and dazzling displays light up the night skies across the globe to welcome in the new decade. good evening. thousands of people in south—eastern australia have been forced to seek refuge on beaches and boats after becoming trapped by advancing bush fires. in the state of victoria, 4,000 people, including locals and tourists, prepared to flee into the ocean as a last resort. in new south wales — where over a hundred

fires are now burning — two more people have been killed, and dozens of properties destroyed along a stretch of coastline. 0ur sydney correspondent, shaimaa khalil, reports. this is what uncontrollable blazes pushed by strong winds have done to towns across eastern australia. and this is what firefighters have been up against for weeks now. this crew trapped in their fire engine as they fight an impossible battle. in the coastal town of batemans bay in new south wales, residents have fled, taking shelter on the beach, desperately trying to escape the hellish fire conditions. 300 kilometres south in the state of victoria, thousands in mallacoota also escaped to the shores. at one point, people were told to jump in the water if the fire came their way. more than a dozen emergency level

blazes, spanning 500 kilometres, have stretched across the two states of victoria and new south wales. several holiday spots along the coast have now been cut off and the main road in the region is closed. military aircraft and vessels could be sent to help rescue efforts and to bring aid to those trapped in the worst hit areas. time and time again, people have told us that the scale of these fires is unlike anything they'd ever seen before and so too is the extent of the damage. and as these blazes continue to rage across eastern and southern australia, many are dealing with the reality of going back home when they've lost everything. the village of balmoral in new south wales has seen some of the worst devastation in recent weeks. everywhere you look is a sign of how the blazes ravaged through the area. rosemary doyle lived in this house for 13 years with her late husband. she tells me she felt relatively safe, living just across the road

from the local fire station. but nothing here has been spared. and then i stood across the road and just watched it burn, room by room, which was really, really difficult. the last room to burn was where i'd left my husband's ashes. soaring temperatures, strong winds and relentless drought have made it impossible to stop the trail of these huge fires and with no rain predicted, australians will now head into the new year with the threat of more blazes looming over them. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, balmoral, new south wales. american military helicopters dropped warning flares over baghdad tonight, after militiamen attacked the us embassy there during the day. protestors were reacting to us air strikes from the weekend. president trump accused iran of orchestrating today's violence. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, reports.

chanting furious crowds and an american embassy, the largest in the world, under siege. protesters and pro—iranian militiamen inside baghdad's protected green zone, venting their anger, attempting to breach the embassy walls. 0ne entrance is pushed open, but the crowd is forced back by tear gas fired from inside. the sentry post is attacked but this is a heavily fortified compound. the soldiers inside seem alert, but not yet alarmed. fires are lit outside, the air thick with smoke and anti—american slogans, but the crowd is not huge. sources inside the compound say the situation appears to be under control. no one has been evacuated. directing the protests are some of the country's leading shi'ite militiamen. they're backed by iran and deeply hostile towards america. translation: this embassy has been

proved to be an embassy of plotting against iraq, the embassy of spying on iraq, and the embassy of running schemes of sabotage in iraq. tensions rose dramatically over the weekend as american warplanes carried out air strikes against militia targets in iraq and syria. at least 25 fighters were killed. the us blamed the pro—iranian group kata'ib hezbollah for a rocket attack on friday that killed an american civilian in the northern city of kirkuk. donald trump points the finger at neighbouring iran. iran killed an american contractor, he tweeted this morning... he also warned iraq to do more to protect the embassy. but iraq's government is in a bind. the us is still an ally in the fight against so—called islamic state, but its relationship with iran

is much closer. the embassy is not thought to be in any immediate danger but american reinforcements have already arrived. us marines, part of a special crisis response unit, making the shortjourney from a base in nearby kuwait. paul adams, bbc news. the former boss of the car company nissan has fled japan, where he was facing trial over allegations of financial misconduct. once one of the most powerful figures in the car industry, carlos ghosn flew to lebanon to escape what he called "injustice and political persecution". rupert wingfield hayes' report from tokyo contains flash photography. last march, carlos ghosn disguised himself as a construction worker as he attempted to slip past the waiting media on his release from jail. now, he has succeeded in slipping out ofjapan, perhaps in another disguise. even his own defence team have been left dumbfounded, unable to explain how mrghosn did it.

translation: we didn't know anything about it, it's a complete surprise. we still have all his passports. somehow, mr ghosn managed to board a privatejet and last night he landed here, in the lebanese capital, beirut. he said he had not fled japanese justice but escaped from injustice. this is a truly extraordinary development in what was an already extraordinary story. japanese prosecutors will say by fleeing, carlos ghosn is admitting his guilt. many others agree with mr ghosn and his defence team, that the charges against him were, essentially, politically motivated and that mr ghosn‘s real crime was trying to force a merger

between a japanese company nissan and its french parent, renault. in the 19905 carlos ghosn helped save french car—maker renault. in the 20005, he took on an even biggerjob, turning around japan's moribund car—maker, nissan. he rose to become one of the most powerful figures in the global car industry, but in 2018, he was arrested at tokyo airport on suspicion of financial misconduct. he was held in this tokyo detention centre for more than 100 days, facing daily interrogations. this is a conspiracy. since his release on bail, carlos ghosn has angrily proclaimed his innocence, accusing his former colleagues at nissan of conspiring with japanese prosecutors to manufacture a case against him. the media injapan had been preparing for what was expected

to be the trial of the decade. instead, carlos ghosn is now far away in lebanon, a country that has no extradition agreement with japan. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. here, the national living wage is set to rise by more than four times the rate of inflation. the increase takes hourly pay for people over the age of 25 to £8.72 from april. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. it's been promoted by the new government as the biggest cash increase ever for those on the lowest pay, an extra £930 a year, if they're full—time. for the employers that have to pay it, though, their income isn't going up anything like as fast. many low—paying industries like restaurants and hotels don't dare raise their prices to cover the extra costs for fear of losing customers. the chancellor set out a plan for raising the wage to 66% of average earnings,

or about £10.50 by 202a. i think politicians need to understand that that kind of rise doesn't come for free and they'll need to be looking at the kind of supportive policies around that that will help businesses. in the past decade, boosting wages for the lowest paid has reduced income inequality, the gap between the lowest paid and the average. but the main reason for that is the average hasn't kept up with prices. in fact, at the last count, it still bought less than it once did, long before the decade began. since 2008, the minimum wage, rebranded the national living wage, has risen by 13% after taking account of inflation. but the average pay packet still buys you £1 a week less than it did 11 years ago. average earnings are now rising faster than inflation, but firms can only afford to keep that up if they can produce a little more each year per worker. those improvements in productivity have been patchy in the past decade. turning that around will be one of the biggest economic challenges of the 20205.

andy verity, bbc news. thousands of mixed—sex couples in england and wales are expected to enter into civil partnerships from today. it comes after a long battle against a law that had previously only permitted same—sex couples to become civil partners. daniela relph's report contains fla5h photography. cheering finally, civil partners. something they had always wanted, but until today, had been legally impossible. rebecca steinfeld, charles keidan, and their two young daughters, mark the occasion at chelsea registry office in london. i love you. this wasn't a wedding. they didn't even call it a ceremony. it was the registration of a civil partnership. giving the family the legal and financial protection that a marriage provides. there are lots of reasons why people don't want to get married. they might have had a previous bad experience of marriage, their own parents marriage, they might have feminist objections like we do.

and we feel thrilled and honoured that we have opened up the institution of civil partnership so that everyone can now form one regardless of whether they are in a mixed sex or 5ame—5ex relationship. it is just an amazing moment for us, it is the end of a long journey and the start of a new decade and the beginning of my life together as civil partners in law. i couldn't have wished for a better moment than that. for rebecca and charles this is both a private, family celebration and public recognition of a change in the law. something they have been fighting for through the courts for more than five years. the couple took their challenge to the highest court in the land. the supreme court agreed with charles and rebecca, excluding different sex couples from civil partnership wa5 willed incompatible with their right to a family life. was ruled incompatible with their right to a family life. i don't believe this change would have happened without charles and rebecca. but whil5t, as of today, they are civilly partnered, this is something now which will affect thousands and potentially million5 of people across the uk.

one of the things people just don't realise until things go wrong in a relationship is that unless they were married or now have a civil partnership, they are not legally protected. rebecca and charles were amongst the first but the government predict5 as many as 84,000 heterosexual couples could become civil partners in 2020. daniela relph, bbc news, west london. with under two hours left of 2019 — preparations have been well underway to bring in 2020. in a moment we'll speak to our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon in edinburgh — but first let's go to charlotte gallagher who's in central london. charlotte, finishing touches to a fireworks extravaganza. we are counting down to the next decade and the spectacular fireworks display on the banks of the river thame5. i think we are in the best spotin thame5. i think we are in the best spot in the whole of london. becau5e thatis spot in the whole of london. becau5e that is the main attraction, the london eye. at the stroke of

midnight around 2000 fireworks will be set off from the wheel and another 10,000 will be set off from barges along the thames. the theme i5 barges along the thames. the theme is the euro 2020 football games which are being held in london next year. as well as hearing mu5ic which are being held in london next year. as well as hearing music from the likes of stormzy, wylie and bastille, you will hear some classic football anthems a5 bastille, you will hear some classic football anthems as well. and we have been promised a few 5urpri5e5. around 100,000 people have tickets and they are watching the fireworks from the banks of the thames, but you can see the action from the comfort of your sofa at home. lorna, big crowds where you are? hogmanay celebrations have begun in edinburgh, 75,000 people expected. the streets already filling up for what is billed as the uk's biggest street party. and it is an event re ce nt street party. and it is an event recent figures suggested, is close to £40 million to the city. it

brings in tourists from all over the world and the atmosphere his great. and while the police say they are prepared for everything, they say their biggest challenge in recent years has been the weather. not tonight, the conditions are dry. they are clear and the organisers say it is near perfect conditions for the fireworks display at midnight. lorna gordon, many thanks. and also thank you to charlotte gallagher in central london. new year celebrations have begun around the globe, with spectacular fireworks di5plays in many cities to welcome in the new decade. here's dan johnson — and his report unsurprisingly contains flashing images. a quiet moment to contemplate what's been, before embracing what comes next. a new year, a new decade, and new zealand kicked it off with auckland the first major city to welcome 2020. sydney put on a spectacular, despite calls to cancel the fireworks because of widespread bushfire5.

it's a global stage, after all, and the show did indeed go on. a big bong and a tub—thumping soundtrack saw the start of celebrations in japan, the first new year's eve of a whole new era. across the water, kim jong—un‘s resisted too many rocket launches this year, perhaps saving north korea's firepower for this display. turkey went for it, too. fireworks in istanbul signalled the new year had rolled into europe. and in london, not long now until all eyes will be on the wheel. 20 years old itself, the icon of a global city, and the focus of a nation waiting to see what 2020 brings. dan johnson, bbc news. that's all from me. a very happy new year to you. goodnight.

hello, this is bbc news. an 0xford professor who was forced to retire at 69 was unfairly dismissed by the university, an employment tribunal has ruled. it found that paul ewart was discriminated against on the grounds of age, but the university says the policy was meant to give younger academics a better chance of promotion. katharine da costa reports. it's one of the world's oldest and most respected institutions. yet oxford university has been accused of ageism. professor paul ewart says his research into developing more efficient engines to reduce carbon emissions was in full swing when he was forced out under

0xford's retirement policy, two years ago. i was very disappointed and frustrated because i felt that i had more to give. i felt there was an issue of ageist attitudes to older people here that needed to be challenged. and thatjust because you reach an arbitrary age, doesn't mean that you cease being useful or can contribute to the work of the university or society. under current uk laws, there is no set age for retirement but 0xford, cambridge and st andrews universities claim their policy of removing professors over 67 is necessary to refresh their workforce and promote diversity. the tribunal found 0xford's policy had limited success. some experts now feel the ruling could lead to changes. i think it will put pressure on all cause them to rethink their policies

because what they will not want is to be challenged again, and in fact it might have an impact on other employers, particularly in a similar environment. professor ewart says he is hoping to be reinstated and continue collaborating with his colleagues in chemistry and physics. but today in a statement, the university said it is considering its options, including the possibility of an appeal. katharine da costa, bbc news, in oxford. more than 800 sightings of whales, dolphins and seals have been recorded in british waters this year. wildlife trusts across the country have collated the sightings using a network of specially trained volunteers. thousands of people have also volunteered to clean beaches amid growing concern over wildlife, climate change and pollution. 0ur environment correspondent paul murphy sent this report from the east yorkshire coast. dolphins, whales and porpoises appear to be thriving off the yorkshire coast, with numerous sightings last year from flamborough out to spurn.

appearances that are being carefully recorded. we've had a network of surveyors up and down the yorkshire coast looking out for whales and dolphins. we've got about 30 different watching stations and in that time over 30 volunteers have recorded well over 300 individual sightings of whales and dolphins. that includes things like bottlenose dolphins, minke whale and porpoise. the wildlife trust and its partner, sea watch, have been monitoring from boats and from the shore. and this survey wouldn't have been possible without so—called citizen science. the hundreds of volunteers who are now helping wildlife organisations to gather huge amounts of data. naturalist craig thomas was one of those lucky enough to spot a humpback whale when it surfaced off bempton in the autumn. it was immediately obvious where the animal was because there

was a huge circling flock of ganets overhead, which is quite typical of what happens when humpback whales are in the area. birds will flock around them hoping to catch fish that the whale might disturb. we're not sure whether we are seeing an increase in whales and dolphins in our waters or actually we've just got more people watching. i suspect it's a little of both, to be honest. we've got more eyes and ears on the coastline during the watching for us, which is fantastic. as a result, you do get more sightings and recordings. climate change means the marine environment needs more protection than ever. the data from these surveys will be used to show the strengths and weaknesses of the numerous species that inhabit these waters. paul murphy, bbc news, east yorkshire. emmanuel macron has said he wants a strong relationship with post brexit britain. in his traditional televised new year's eve address, the french president said brexit

will be a test for his country, but added that he will strive to maintain a solid relationship with the uk. he also addressed the controversial pension overhaul in france, saying that the reforms would be carried out, despite fierce protests. the pope has presided over the year's end celebrations at st peter's basilica. pope francis celebrated the first vespers at the vatican this evening, before walking through st peter's square to greet pilgrims. he tweeted. .. let us give thanks to god for his grace, which has sustained us in this past year, and with joy let us raise a song of praise to him. in the last few minutes greece saw in the new year at the acropolis of athens — an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city. the north korean leader kimjong—un has declared that his country is abandoning its moratoriums on nuclear and long—range ballistic

missile tests. mr kim had given the united states until the end of 2019 to find a way of salvaging their stalled talks on ridding the korean peninsula of nuclear weapons. north korea hasn't carried out any nuclear or long—range missile tests since 2017. the met office says it's provisionally recorded its highest ever december temperature in the uk. it reached 18.7 degrees celsius at achfary in scotland on saturday. time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there. the early days of the new year will bring in some mild air across the uk. it'll turn quite windy at times. right now it's quite cold where we've had the clearer skies and the earlier sunshine across parts of northern england, and indeed for scotland. we've got more cloud further south. it has been an altogether different—looking day across wales, much of the midlands and southern england, and that cloud is moving northwards. there still may be some pockets of light rain and drizzle, mainly affecting the channel islands if you are out at midnight. elsewhere it's generally dry.

quite chilly, though, for the north—east of england and the north—east of scotland. a touch of frost here. and there might be some patches of mist and fog around, too, particularly across parts of yorkshire and lincolnshire. as we move into the first day of 2020, we're going to find the winds picking up in the north—west of the uk ahead of those weather fronts. that one there still bringing in some pockets of rain in the channel islands should be moving away. elsewhere it's probably going to be dry. a lot of cloud, and there may be some brightness at times, but the best of the sunshine will be towards the north—east of scotland, where we're more sheltered from those freshening breezes. we might make double figures in the north—west of scotland, likewise in the south—west of england, where it should be a drier and brighter day than today. we're tapping into some very mild air that's coming all the way from the azores on thursday. that's ahead of these weather fronts here, which will bring down some rain from the north—west. we're going to find some outbreaks of rain affecting northern ireland, into scotland. that rain could be quite heavy, actually, over the hills of western scotland on thursday, and this band of rain heading down towards the western side of england and wales later. ahead of that, dry and bright, with some sunshine at times. quite a windy day, though, everywhere with strong to galeforce winds.

but it'll be mild everywhere, temperatures around 11—12 degrees. that milder weather may not last too long because as those weather fronts take any remaining rain across the uk overnight, the wind direction changes and we draw down some slightly cooler air. there still may be some cloud and maybe a few spots of rain to clear away from southern england, and through the channel islands in the morning. elsewhere, plenty of sunshine and we pick up a few showers as you head further north. most of those will be across the northern half of scotland. quite frequent, a touch wintry over the highest ground. not particularly cold air, seven or eight degrees in the northern half of the uk. into the weekend, where we could see some rain across the far north of scotland. otherwise, it is likely to be dry, some sunshine at times, but still mild for the time of year.

hello, this is bbc news.

i'm martine croxall. the headlines. thousands of people in south—eastern australia have been forced to seek refuge on the coast after becoming trapped by advancing bushfires. the us is to send more troops to protect its embassy in baghdad, where there's been an attack by thousands of iraqi militiamen. lebanon says the former nissan boss carlos ghosn entered the country legally and will not face any legal consequences, after he fled japan where he was awaiting trial. from today, mixed—sex couples in england and wales can finally enter into civil partnerships. new legislation comes into force tomorrow to make trains fully accessible for disabled users, but not all firms will make the deadline. and many countries have seen in 2020 with spectacular fireworks displays, while here, there's a promise that tonight's london celebrations will surpass all previous years. next, the bbc‘s amol rajan takes a close—up look at a year dominated