an air strike at baghdad airport has hit high—profile targets linked to iran. iraqi state tv says one of those killed was the powerful iranian military commander, qassim soleimani. there's been no official comment yet either from iran orfrom the united states, which many are blaming for the killings. the australian navy is evacuating over 800 people from mallacoota in victoria, a town almost encircled by wildfires. it's part of the authorities‘ attempts to get as many people as possible to safety before a forecast rise in temperatures. the operation is being described as the country's largest—ever mass evacuation. the trump administration has announced a ban on some flavours of e—cigarette to curb rising teenage use of vaping products. however, menthol and tobacco flavours, and large, refillable vaping devices will be completely exempt. critics say the measures fall short of plans previously outlined by president trump earlier. despite delays and poor performance from some train operators — millions of commuters in england

and wales will now have to pay an average of 2.7% more for their tickets. it means some passengers face a rise of more than £100 for their annual passes. prices in scotland are also going up. the rail delivery group — which represents the train companies — claims average fare increases have been kept to below inflation for the third year in a row. our transport correspondent tom burridge reports from manchester. the service is absolutely shocking. i can't get to the nursery sometimes on time. we can't get to meetings on time. it causes logistical nightmares. travel from the midlands... at the end of the day we're always late for work, we're neveron time. it's so bad, sometimes i have to get a taxi. ..to the north of england and the stories are similar. today's rail fare rise, hard to swallow. the prices seem to keep going up and you don't seem to get anything more for your money.

as i say, they are always late. sometimes only by a minute or two, but always late. as the price hike took effect this morning, the transport secretary said the company running the largest franchise in northern england wasn't fit for purpose. ijust don't think it is acceptable. i've been a long—suffering commuter myself for many years, and i don't think it's right that people can't always rely on their train services, and particularly in places like northern, where it has been notably bad, i will absolutely bring that situation to an end. northern, the company operating these services, is effectively on a final warning. in a matter of weeks, the government has to make a controversial call. either strip the company of this franchise, or let it keep operating these trains on a simpler type of contract. paul has been campaigning for improvements for years. he wants northern out. nothing has improved in 12 months and yet we have had two fare increases. people are paying a lot more

now for their journeys, they're taking hours to get home from work or to get to work, people have had to change jobs, lose theirjobs. northern says delays to infrastructure upgrades have affected its performance. but the problems stretch far beyond northern. the scottish government will end its contract with scotrail early because of poor performance. and in the second quarter of last year, only a 40% of services on transpennine express made it within a minute of their arrival time. the punctuality record of london north eastern railway and cross country were only slightly better. the trains were so unreliable last year on west midlands and london northwestern railways that season ticket holders there will not pay more this year. the body representing train companies says it's not all bad. there are surveys taken of passenger satisfaction, not by the rail industry, they're done

independently, and they consistently show 83—84% satisfaction levels. but too often passengers are let down. the government will soon publish a blueprint on how our railways can improve. tom burridge, bbc news. now a look at the global makeup industry. what makes lipstick glossy and foundation smooth? 70% of make—up products contain palm oil — so what are our beauty products doing to the planet? emmy burbidge has been finding out. what helps make our lip gloss shiny and colourful? our face cream soft and our foundation smooth? in many cases, it's palm oil. it's in 70% of beauty products. some people say it should be banned, but why? it's just like mountains literally everywhere. my name's emmy, and 28, and i'm a make—up artist. and i'm going to the other side of the world to see where palm oil comes from.

people don't want you to know the real story, and that's very obvious. nobody sees this. we don't appreciate kind of what goes into putting things on our face or what we use to, like, wash with, and this side of it should be shown more. is tearing down the world's rainforest and destroying people's homes... there is no hope for a future for them. that's it for him and his family. i want to know if there's a better way to make my make—up. i grew up here in frome, i went to school and college, and now i run my own beauty salon. i just fell over. sorry.

i use quite a wide range of brands. i'm going to be using some liquid foundations, a lot of highlighters. we're going to be kind of looking at more of a radiant look. i remember being young and looking at my mum in the mirror, watching her do her make—up, and just copying, you know. it's amazing. what would we do without it, really? if you've got a spot, cover it up. just relax your lip. that's it. i don't know what i would do without mascara. if i was on a desert island, that's one thing i would take, because i'd look like a mole. make—up is a massive part of my life. it can transform you, it can make you feel good about yourself, and it's creative. i really notice more and more of my clients asking if the products i use are cruelty—free, and what they're made of. i've tried to ethically source a good brand for our salon

that is cruelty—free and vegan. it's becoming so much more asked about. is it? yeah. do you know that palm oil is in so many products? mostly things like lipsticks and more oilier products, so foundations probably mostly. there's a human in my forest and i don't know what to do. last year, palm oil made the headlines after this iceland advert was banned from being shown on tv. the supermarket decided to stop using palm oil in all its own label products. it's in foods like peanut butter, biscuits and instant noodles, and what interests me the most is that it's also in 70% of cosmetics. so, should i give up on my make—up or is there a better way? it's quite hard, because there's quite a few things that i'd like to take, and obviously it's hard to know if there is palm oil actually in them. and i did a bit of research about that, and it's really hard

to find out if it's in it, because it's hidden under so many different names. so, itjust makes it so hard to be able to know if it's definitely in it or not. we approached loads of cosmetics companies to be in this film. only one agreed to take part. palm oil if it's done in the right way is definitely the best solution, but under the condition that it is done in a sustainable and responsible way. palm oil if it's done in the right way is definitely the best solution. it was a huge surprise for me to hear that. i'm heading out to papa new guinea to find out where palm oil comes from. excited. and how we can make it more sustainably. i've never flown further than europe before, so this is a huge adventure for me. just so many new palms that have been planted. a huge area.

a huge, huge area. and here's the thing. palm is actually the most productive oil around. for the same amount of sunflower or coconut oil, which are the main alternatives, you need up to ten times more land than for palm. so, why does palm oil have so much about reputation? despite being so productive, the main reason is deforestation. it said to have been responsible for the loss of 8% of the world's forest between 1990 and 2008. papua new guinea is home to the third largest rainforest in the world, after the amazon and the congo basin. this is one of the largest palm oil plantations in the country. to make way for it, the forest has been cut down huge chunks at a time. nobody sees this. we don't appreciate kind of what goes into putting things on ourface.

love me. i love. what we use to, like, wash with, and this side of it should be shown more. ijust feel sad. i just feel upset. i just feel sorry. you know, the wildlife, the people, it's all changing. a long hot, bumpy drive into this massive plantation, and i started to hearfrom people saying their lives had suffered because of palm oil. these people signed an agreement with the big oil company. in return for leasing their land, they were promised a lump sum of cash, improved homes and a better school. hello. emmy. emmy, 0k. nice to meet you. the company come in, promised... this village elder told me they haven't received the full money they are owed. and the housing and school

haven't materialised. bewani oil palm plantations told us it had paid the right money to various landowner companies, but it was up to them how they distribute the monies. the company also said it had invested in housing and schools in the area. around the plantation, i saw constant reminders of what we are doing to the forest. in other areas we filmed, children were working barefoot on the plantations. there is no rules for children or anything. they bring children here to work in the plant so they will have monies. we also met others, some who were clearly very sick. bewani oil palm isn't a certified sustainable plantation. it told us it acted legally and did not allow child labour. it said the area had been neglected for decades,

but it had broughtjobs and benefits and was committed to addressing all the needs of the villagers. we used to live by forest. 0ur forest was our source of food. it was just like our supermarket. but now the company came, we lost everything. i mean, like, you can hear the difference from the rainforest behind us from the wildlife, but here there is just no sound. so upsetting. it just looks empty. huge areas of papa new guinea's rainforest have been cut down to make way for palm oil plantations, but it doesn't have to be this way. what we decided, and i think also the ngos and everybody

agrees on that today, palm oil if it is done in a sustainable way is a very good oil. the alternative is not to say no palm oil. the alternative is to challenge the whole supply chain to do palm oil in a sustainable way and responsible way. there are a number of companies doing this. they are producing sustainable palm oil, which means agreeing not to cut down any more forests. and treating their workers fairly. i flew to a different part of papua new guinea to see how one company does it. it is half past four in the morning. up nice and early to go on a trip to a palm oil plantation, so that we can see the workers basically starting their work. and super excited to see what's going to happen. a bit of foundation, some eyeliner. it's probably going to sweat off, iwould imagine. going this way? yeah, just go up to the vans. every day the workers

gather at first light. heavenly father, we praise and we thank you for this new day. bless all those helping us through christ, our lord. amen. why are you crying? itjust made me feel emotional about, i don't know, just how they work so hard for what they have. and this is all to bring us a product that... yeah. lipstick. literally. people have no idea where it comes from, how it starts. the forest here was destroyed over 50 years ago, but this palm oil company has said that they won't cut down any more. these guys are the fruit cutters.

it's a skilled job and incredibly hard work. they use a 14 metre long extendable metal pole, with a scythe at the end to harvest the palm. every time one of these bunches landed, i could feel the ground shake. each bunch weighs around 25 kilograms and has hundreds of individualfruits. the bits that fall off are picked up by women known as loose fruit marys. the orange flesh becomes crude palm oil, which is used in cooking, but the white centre is the bit i'm interested in. palm kernel oil is the one that is used in cosmetics more, and it's more expensive to harvest, because there's not a lot of it compared to palm oil. so, it feels a bit like a vitamin e kind of oil. it's just so cool. am i pretty? it's just crazy that this one little

fruit produces so much globally. along with promising not to cut down any more trees, sustainable palm oil companies also have to treat their workers fairly. on this plantation, they are given safety equipment, breakfast and transport. i feel happy, because the company provides water and transport for the children to go to school. i feel one of the most important things is that with palm, you get the most oil from the least land, so growing the alternative like sunflower or coconut here instead of these palms would mean this plantation would have to be up to ten times bigger to produce the same amount of oil. this is the mill where the fruit is turned into oil. get eaten here! i hate flies. i wouldn't survive in the jungle, that's for sure. the centre of the fruit

becomes palm kernel oil. on a busy day they produce 6000 tonnes of oil here. it's then pumped into tankers and shipped all the way to liverpool to be processed. then on to the rest of the world to go into food and beauty products. demand for palm oil is growing from cosmetic companies, but how do you get more oil without cutting down more trees? the answer is science. in a lab in the heart of the plantation, i got to see these modified seedlings. they're being crossbred and could eventually produce up to ten times as much fruit on the same amount of land. seeing this today has definitely made me feel like the palm industry isn't as dark as what it's made out to us.

all these have to be hand—planted. because you need to make sure you've got the pinnate facing the right way up. what's a puminal, jamie? puminal, it's the emerging leaf. and if you plant it upside down, that's not real good. but it's easy done. and then 12 weeks this week, so there is 11 weeks at the moment, so one more week in the nursery and... these young trees are then planted where old palms used to be. thank you for obviously showing us around. i think a lot of questions that my clientele would have is how would they find out if palm oil is actually in their product, and how would we go about knowing if it's come from a sustainable company? that's one of the major problems for us, is that we go to a lot of time, trouble in our ethos if you like, the way that we work is to be sustainable,

and we get no recognition. unlike, for instance, some of the coffee companies that are rainforest alliance—accredited, or some of the tea producers, and they can stick the badge on, and everybody has comfort that that's come from a sustainable source, with our industry that doesn't happen. and that disconnect‘s a very big problem. foi’ me as a consumer, it is very difficult to know which products actually contain sustainable palm oil. there is a logo from the roundtable on sustainable palm oil, rspo for short, but it rarely makes it onto our cosmetics labels, so how will we know? local people have lived in and relied on the rainforest for thousands of years. i came to do a bit of exploring. so beautiful.

lots of wet ground. a lot of wet ground, because, you know... shade. this is nick's land. it's about as far away from somerset as you can get. this spider was bigger than my hand. massive spider. bigger than i've ever seen. they won't kill you? they won't kill you. they can try. what if it jumps? it's incredible. it's beautiful. words can't describe this place. so full of noises and beauty. it was really quite overwhelming. what really moved me was how deep the connection to the forest is. nick and his family can grow lots of fruit and veg on their land, and sell what they don't eat, but it's not enough to survive.

he told me that he had to cut down a large part of his sacred forest to plant palm, so that he could support his family. and it's a big family. he's got eight kids and a bunch of grandchildren. you discovered a new blusher, emmy. yeah. i think this is some new rouge, as they call it. cutting down the trees has been the hardest thing in the world for him. it's very beautiful. yeah. i can see why you want to protect it. to destroy the forest and the trees and see the birds flying around, crying around, but i'm sorry for that. we need plants and medicines, so i destroyed my forest to plant that because the money. sorry. just seeing so much corporate stuff, so it isjust, you don't see this side of it,

they don't show that side of it. trees falling down there. you feel upset too. yes. thank you. it was so interesting to hear that this family didn't know anything about what palm oil goes into. i thought i'd show them. in the uk we call this lip gloss and this makes your lips shiny. pretty. what do you think about that, about seeing this has come from the palm kernel?

but it felt strange, because they don't need make—up here. the boys are going to love you! before i came out here, i never knew the whole story behind palm oil. now i have seen the real impact of it and it has definitely had an impact on me. we take a lot for granted. i think this trip has made me feel very differently about how i see what we are using, the world, how it works, and if i can try and make a change to what i am doing, then hopefully others will follow. we asked some of the biggest and most popular cosmetics brands about the use of palm oil. l'0real, the body shop and barry m say 100% of the palm oil

they use is sustainable. coty, inc, the company that owns rimmel say 20% of the palm oil they use is sustainable and they say they want to make that 100% by 2022. chanel, estee lauder and lush didn't respond. so what can we do as consumers? some environmental groups like greenpeace and the wwf say boycotting palm isn't the way to go because so many people's incomes rely on it and the alternatives could be worse. but we can start checking the ingredients in what we use and look out for products that contain sustainable palm oil. if done sustainably it's helping the environment, and it's also helping the people that work for the company to live a better life. and if yourfavourite brand doesn't use sustainable palm oil, you could put pressure on them by asking them why not? palm oil isn't going away anytime soon, so it's up to us to decide what we do about it.

since the palm oil trip and learning about what goes on behind—the—scenes, i think that has made me more conscious to actually look at what i am using, but also for the salon as well, that is really important, i would never have done that before. this time last year i was just maybe looking into cruelty—free and vegan and now it is like i am trying to make sure i am looking into what i am actually using. it's so difficult, i still find it difficult to actually find out if it is in my products, so i have written to the company which i use skincare for in the salon, so i am still waiting to hear back, haven't heard back, nearly a month. yes, it is a big deal to go and write to the company, but i think it's really important.

once you start doing that, other people will start doing it, so i hope that is what will happen. if you can't find out if it is sustainable, then shout about it, do something about it. hello there. for many we started the year on a cloudy but quiet note, didn't we? but it was all change by day two with rain, some of it heavy across scotland. not one weather front but two. it must be january — it's buy one get one free and it brought some heavy rain as it drifted its way steadily south and east. so much so that we had 40mm by 8pm at the end of the day on thursday in the highlands of scotland.

all change as we move into friday's weather because it looks likely that today will be colder and there will be a little more in the way of sunshine around, and that is because those two weather fronts continue to drift their way south and east, and then they allow the door to open to the colder arctic air. the isobars always squeezing together and they always stay pretty windy in the northern isles, with galeforce gusts of winds here, but it's going to be a chilly old start in scotland first thing this morning, compare that to double—digits down into the south—east corner. unfortunately, that means that we keep cloud and outbreaks of rain here. hopefully by coffee time, certainly by lunchtime, that should have eased away. we will have more sunshine coming through for friday, but it stays windy into the far north and that's going to drive in some showers on exposed north—west coast and those temperatures struggling a little. so despite the sunshine, highest values ofjust 6—9 degrees. moving out of friday into the start of the weekend and it looks likely

that high pressure will build from the south and stay with us for saturday and sunday. at the same time, frontal systems drift across the high and that means more cloud here and more of a breeze, so sheltered eastern areas seeing the best of any brightness perhaps on saturday. more cloud further west and just a little bit of light, showery rain into the far north—west, with highest values on saturday of 7—10 degrees. it's almost a case of spot the difference as we move into sunday — still under the influence of high—pressure for most, still those weather fronts toppling across that high, introducing more cloud and rain, with more of a south—westerly feed, slightly less colder air across the country, and temperatures widely back into double figures — 9—11 degrees for many. but that means that the high pressure is likely to drift its way off into the near continent, so for the start of the new working week, as everybody‘s starting to get back into a routine after christmas and new year period, there is some more rain to come in the forecast — wet and windy weather will arrive for monday into tuesday, so this is how it is looking — pretty unsettled.

umbrellas close at hand, i'm afraid. take care.

welcome to bbc news — i'm simon pusey. our top stories: the leader of iran's quds force is killed in baghdad — the us says american military carried out airstrikes in the area. in the last few minutes, the pentagon said general soleimani was developing plans to attack american diplomats in iraq and throughout the region. by land and by sea — tens of thousands of australians are evacuated as bushfires rage on. it feels like i'm in the middle of an apocalypse. like, i think someone‘s dropped a bomb on us, basically. that's what it feels like.