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.

we start with breaking news from iraq. elite quds force, has been killed in baghdad. his death has been confirmed in the last few minutes by the revolutionary guards, and reported on iranian state television. earlier, us officials told reuters news agency they had carried out strikes against targets in baghdad linked to iran. they came just hours after the us defence secretary mark esper said washington might have to take pre—emptive action to protect american lives in the middle east. david willis joins us from los angeles. what are us sources saying? within the last few minutes, a statement from the pentagon basically confirming the death of qasem soleimani and saying that it came as

a result of a us strike in the statement says qasem soleimani was responsible for the debt of hundreds of american servicemembers and the wounding of thousands more and goes on to say that he or stated attacks on to say that he or stated attacks on bases in a wright over the last several months, culminating in the debt and wounding additional american and iraqi personnel. the pentagon statement also says that general soleimani approved the attacks on the us embassy in baghdad, those protests starting two days ago and there were cries of" death to america" and people trying to get over defence and so on. the statement goes on, this strike, which took place in the early hours of friday near baghdad international airport, was aimed at deterring future iranian attack plans, simon.

this is a real escalation because it was a day ago that when asked, president trump, if he wanted a forceful war with iran, he said absolutely not, that's not what you plan to do but if this is the case, it's a real escalation after the attacks on the us embassy. absolutely. we had this rocket attack which killed an american contractor working in iraqi and we had those american airstrikes in response which killed 25 members of an iranian— backed militia and we had those protests at the embassy, the us embassy in baghdad, the largest embassy in the world. i'm just referring to there and you are absolutely right, this represents an alarming escalation in the tension between the united states and iran and you mentioned yourself, the us to rent —— defence secretary mark esper has said it necessary the us

might have to carry out pre—emptive strikes in order to safeguard its personnel and facilities in the region. it would seem that is what has happened here. david willis, something tells me it will be a busy day for you and night for us with reaction coming out of the us to these developments but for now, thank you very much indeed. retired ambassador robert ford worked in the baghdad us embassy for four years at the height of the iraq war and then served as us ambassador to syria. if this is confirmed, this is a huge develop, isn't it? yes, it's a very big development. president trump will have huge political support for this year in the united states. i don't think anyone will come out strongly against him. and we will have to wait and see for the reaction in iraq. what does this

mean for what was already a fragile relationship between iran and the us? well, obviously it's an american escalation. reading the commentary on twitter and facebook tonight, people are worried that war is going to break out immediately between iran and the united states, i am sceptical expects to call. the iranian ‘s note that the americans have preponderance militaria —— militaria —— militarily and iranian isa militaria —— militarily and iranian is a much more patient than americans. they move deliberately. i wouldn't expect the iranians to necessarily strongly react in the next few days. my guess is they are going to weigh their options and think a little bit before the next move. in your analysis, would you see a direct link? a direct link between those attacks on the us

embassy a few days ago and what we've seen in the last few hours?” think there isjust we've seen in the last few hours?” think there is just a steady escalation. the attack on the american embassy and the iranians attack on the american position up near kirkuk on december 27, this is an ongoing tit—for—tat. there is warming of iranians — backed militias in syria for months now. the iranians sit an oil facility in saudi arabia, they've harassed shipping in the persian gulf. this has been going on for a long time and this is one more step in the back—and—forth confrontation but no—one should have any question, this is a big step, to kill soleimani, one the most influential people in the middle that is no small thing and the iraqi who died

was also an important figure in iraqi pollard six. if soleimani has been killed, what does that mean for the irg c and quds force force, will they respond? they will certainly start thinking about it. i'm not sure that that's sophisticated. but there will be other commanders, that is the thing about a state—sponsored terrorist organisation likely iranians revolution regard quds force. the iranians state will continue to back it and there will bea continue to back it and there will be a new leader but soleimani had had thejob for decades be a new leader but soleimani had had the job for decades and had built upa had the job for decades and had built up a network of people, people who like to work with him and he worked with, who knew him, he was hugely respected among the iraqi, lebanese and syrian militias with whom he worked. you would see

selfies of him out on the front lines against isis. this was a guy who had lots of blood on his hands but i will give him credit for being courageous. and so replacing somebody like him will not be easy. does this new surprise you? you worked in the us embassy in baghdad oi’ worked in the us embassy in baghdad or does this i think for a long time, the americans would have been happy to put soleimani out of business. he was responsible responsible for the deaths of hundreds of us soldiers, 600 american soldiers during the iraq war when i was there. frankly his organisations killed british personnel in iraq as well. i'm thinking of several reduced financial experts, civilians at the iraqi ministry of finance working

aptand iraqi ministry of finance working apt and murdered. iraqi ministry of finance working aptand murdered. i'm happy to iraqi ministry of finance working apt and murdered. i'm happy to see him out of business but ijust think sooner him out of business but ijust think sooner or later, the iranians will react and i hope we are ready for it and especially for the sake of iraqi, i hope that the worst does not happen and we don't see widespread fighting in iraq itself. its massive news and it's still breaking, there is lots to be confirmed but for now, robert ford, thank you for your thoughts and analysis. the australian navy is beginning the evacuation of more than eight—hundred people from the town of mallacoota in victoria, which has been almost entirely encircled by wildfires. it's part of a major operation to get as many people as possible to safety before dangerous weather conditions return on saturday, raising the possibility of further fires. emergency powers are in force, in both victoria, and neighbouring new south wales.eastern australia is also bracing itself for a weekend heatwave with more extreme conditions and strong winds that will further fan the flames.

our correspondent shaimaa khalil reports. a mass exodus from the devastation on the southern coast and a race to escape the dangerous fire conditions to come. thousands of holiday—makers have been given 48 hours to escape the blazes before conditions worsen, but it hasn't been easy. families have heeded the calls to evacuate, but, because the conditions on the road are still very dangerous, there have been closures in different directions and now they tell us they feel stranded having evacuated those fire—raged towns, now unable to get home. you kind of have a feeling that you can't go forwards, you can't go backwards. and, really, you know, stuck between a burning rock and a burning rock, aren't you? just have to sit it out and hopefully, you know, don't get caught in the middle of a fire. some families were able to get away

early in the morning before the road closures. this couple lost their house and had to take refuge in the lake across the road. the fireball came over the hill just opposite the lake. we thought we had a few minutes at least. we were hosing down the house and everything, doing the gutters, what they say to do, and, within two or three minutes, the fireball just came through at about 80 kays an hour, hit the house, and then we ran into the lake and then all the embers and everything were hitting us, burnt our hair a little bit, and we were in there for about an hour before we got rescued. this is what they're escaping. burning since september, these bushfires have destroyed more than 1,200 homes. the prime minister, who has been a staunch supporter of fossil fuels, insisted that government policy struck the right balance between supporting the economy and protecting the environment. how come we only have four trucks to defend our town?

because our town doesn't have a lot of money, but we have hearts of gold, mr prime minister! but he got an angry reception from the residents of cobargo when he visited their town. no, you're an idiot, mate. lake conjola is a popular holiday destination. now it looks like a conflict zone. when kim harper came back to her house, she couldn't recognise the neighbourhood. it feels like i'm in the middle of the apocalypse. like, i think someone's dropped a bomb on us, basically. that's what it feels like. in the neighbouring state of victoria, the navy has been helping evacuate those people stranded in mallacoota. a series of committee meetings have been held to decide who will get to leave the area by ship first. so far, 18 people have

lost their lives in the fires. volunteer firefighter geoffrey keaton was one of them. today was his funeral, where his i9—month—old son harvey was presented with his father's medal for bravery. gusty winds and temperatures soaring above a0 degrees are set to create hazardous fire conditions in the coming days. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, lake conjola, new south wales. stay with us on bbc news. the japanese people are in mourning following the death of emperor hirohito. thousands converged on the imperial palace to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead. good grief! after half a century of delighting fans around the world, charlie brown and the rest of the gang are calling it quits. the singer paul simon starts his tour of south africa tomorrow in spite of protests and violence from some black activist groups. they say international artists should continue to boycott south africa

until majority rule is established. teams were trying to scoop up lumps of oil, as france recognises it faces an ecological crisis. three weeks ago the authorities confidently assured these areas that oil from the broken tanker erika would head out to sea. it didn't. the world's tallest skyscraper opens later today. the burj dubai has easily overtaken its nearest rivals. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: iraqi state television says the commander of the iranian quds special forces, qassim soleimani, has been killed in an airstrike in baghdad — there's no independent confirmation so far. well let's stay with this. mike pregent is a senior fellow with the hudson institute. he was an advisor to general david petraeus.

thanks a lot for joining thanks a lot forjoining us. canada just get your initial reaction to this breaking news? if you are going to hit iran and iraq, this is what the iraqis have been telling us to do. quds fourth meansjerusalem, and then his deputy, has strongman and iraq, a man who has killed iraqi protesters, american soldiers, lebanese, shia, syria, he has been all over the region killing people and he recently had his militia kill and he recently had his militia kill an american at the k—1 base. that is the reason for all of these protests outside of the iraqi embassy, that with his militia that was protesting outside. so if you wanted to give baghdad a chance you had to take these two individuals out and it looks like that is what happened

tonight. both him and his go to guy appeared to have been killed in a drone strike in baghdad, and for iraqis, if you watch the videos of protesters, they a re iraqis, if you watch the videos of protesters, they are celebrating this. this actually gives iraqi a chance to push back against iran, because the people they feared most we re because the people they feared most were qassim soleimani and other medium hinders. donald trump was asked about the potential of war with iran, said that wasn't what the us was looking for. isn't that what he is risking though by this strike? i would argue that this is what war with iran looks like. we have seen

an escalation by iran in the strait of hormuz, and yemen, syria, with numerous rocket attacks against our compound, our consulate, our bases and iraq, and we haven't done anything. we have given them a red light, if you kill an american we're going to respond. there were three target packages that were represented to the president to action, one of those other packages was to take out qassim soleimani and abu mahdi al—muhandis. they had another attack after storming, this was communicated to tehran, stop. they didn't this is something that the iranians understand. in the a0 yea rs the iranians understand. in the a0 years that this regime has been in

power, they only stand forth. the israelis have done this time and time again and live and on and syria and this is the first time the united states has targeted an iranian terrorist general, and his name is qassim soleimani. he is no different from a big daddy when it comes to what he has done in iraq with syria. we have no problem targeting isis, we should have no problem targeting a designated terrorist. it has been a few hours since this news came out, what has the reaction been in the us? in the us everyone is cautious, trump is starting a war, this is going to lead to violence, we have already seen lead to violence, we have already seen violence. we have already seen americans die, we have already seen

around's activities. this is what kyran looks like. it has a metal it can use, that's what it does and it conducts assassination campaign, conducts assassination campaign, conducts terrorist activity. it has been doing that for a0 years. the president, i'd believe, did the right thing. to be honest with you i have been recommending this for the last four years as a former intelligence officer. the most important voices coming out of this are the iraqi voices. the iraqis indicated something to us the other day. a lot of young port men join these organisations because they are forced to do it by qassim soleimani and abu mahdi al—muhandis. if you wa nt to and abu mahdi al—muhandis. if you want to hurt a rant, kill them instead, and that is what happened. the protesters a re instead, and that is what happened. the protesters are chairing because it was also qassim soleimani who directed his militia's, when he

pushed aside the prime minister and a national security council meeting and said it is ok for you to kill the protesters as long as you refer to them as the corrupt, the spoilers, it is an islamic term used to allow militia to kill an unarmed civilian because qassim soleimani has told them, he's a spoiler and a corrupter. so, has told them, he's a spoiler and a corru pter. so, listen has told them, he's a spoiler and a corrupter. so, listen to the iraqis. they are going to be pretty happy about this. there are reports now, some of those lesser militia leaders, who have always drawn their strength from abu mahdi al—muhandis and qassim soleimani are hiding, are fleeing. and normally they would fleeing. and normally they would flee to iran, but there are also other rumours, we haven't confirmed any of these yet, that they have already been detained. the iraqis we have been working with inside the iraqi army has always told us we can only do so much of these two gentlemen will come after us. those

two gentlemen are gone now. this will give the iraqi military a chance now, they can start to push back against iran's negative influence. they are not a normal neighbour. they decide who their president is, and they have penetrated every cent of the economy. that may have ended tonight. i do expect violence but the guys that could do it the best are no longer alive. really interesting take on that, live from arlington in the us. huge news, still a lot to be confirmed but thank you very much for giving us your initial thoughts. the united states has announced a nationwide ban on some e—cigarette flavours, amid concerns about vaping among teenagers. the ban applies to mint and fruit flavours that are offered in ca rtridge—based e—cigarettes. menthol and tobacco flavours will still be allowed, as well as fruit flavours delivered in other ways. laura trevelayan reports.

flavoured e—cigarettes are very popular with teenagers, but many pa rents a re popular with teenagers, but many parents are concerned about the impact these products could have on their children's health. so the trump administration has banned the kid friendly mint and fruit flavours, but will still allow those flavours, but will still allow those flavours to be sold and the tank systems. this was dictated by the e—cigarette industry. systems. this was dictated by the e-cigarette industry. the band doesn't restrict the sale of menthol e—cigarettes. president trump has a lwa ys e—cigarettes. president trump has always been clear about his goals. we have to protect our families. at the same time, it is a big industry and we want to protect the industry. while it is unclear what the long—term effects of a pinata, there are worries about the potential impact on the lungs of people who vape. so how effectively this partial ban be? it might have a slight effect. i don't think it is going to completely stop this amazing epidemic of youth vaping.

but it is one step in the right direction to try to stop, to start stemming the tide is. ultimately this ban on some flavours of e—cigarette cartridges as a compromise. between the goal of cracking down on teenage vaping and the e—cigarette industry which has lobbied hard for exemptions. it's already being tipped as one of the biggest movies of the year, called "1917", it's an epicjourney across some of the bloodiest battlefields of the first world war. the plot is based on the real experiences of director sam mendes' own grandfather. and it's the expertise and advice of military historian andy robertshaw that have helped make the film so true to life. robin gibson has been to meet him. in your own time, gentlemen. a film which sees the first world war through soldiers' eyes. you have a brother in the second battalion. yes, sir. they are walking into a trap. your orders are to deliver a message calling off tomorrow morning's attack. two tommies have to carry a vital

message on a terrifying journey through the battlefield. i've got orders to cross here. that is the german frontline. hold back!!! watching the film, it's a rollercoaster, because you are waiting for a whole lot of things to happen that you didn't spot to appear. to go, oh no! and if you can get through it without physically feeling sick, it's gone 0k. his obsession with military history has taken andy robertshaw from teacher to freelance film consultant. he's brought in to align fiction with factual detail in making movies. he was hired for this film by word of mouth. i'd been recommended — wait for it — by steven spielberg and by peter jackson. so the veteran of war horse found himself on set for 1917. myjob really was one of getting historical details,

and at the same time working with costume, working with the trench building that needed to be built, and being on location every day for what seemed like months, i think probably it was about six weeks. with other projects in the pipeline, he must be the envy of history teachers across the globe. how did i get here? this is so exceptional. but one day, someone's going to rumble me, i'm sure. 1917 goes on general release at the end of next week. that's just about it from us for now but a quick reminder of our top story, the head of the iranian revolutionary guard's has been killed in baghdad. the pentagon has also confirmed the killing was ordered by resident from. and you

can get more on that story on our website, but for now, from me and all the rest of the team, thanks to much for watching and to stay tuned here on abc news. —— bbc news. 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 a0mm 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.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the united states as its forces have killed qasem soleimani, the commander of the elite quds force in the iranian revolutionary guard, in an airstrike on baghdad airport. the us said the general was actively developing plans to attack americans throughout the region. 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.